Anomaly
by Captain Campion
Summary: A disabled space ship drifts near the moon, but when the shocking contents of the spaceship are discovered, Commander Koenig realizes that Alpha is in great danger. Series 1.
1. Chapter 1

Eagle Three cruised through space, the moon and Alpha behind, an unknown craft ahead. Pilot Peter Irving wore an orange 'pumpkin' space suit sans helmet and eyed the flicker of light in the distance through the cock pit window.

"I'm coming up on it now. According to my instruments it hasn't changed course and I'm getting minimal power readings—nothing more than some electrical discharge. I don't see any type of main thrusters or drive system operating. It's moving real slow."

Back at Alpha the broadcast from Eagle Three played on the view screen in Main Mission, holding the attention of all.

Paul sat at his console with John Koenig and Professor Bergman standing behind. He checked a read out and turned to Alan Carter who monitored the Eagle flight from his reconnaissance station. Paul nodded.

Carter transmitted: "Same readings we're getting down here, Pete. Now you just keep her nice and easy, you hear?"

"Roger that, Alpha. No joyrides today."

Paul kept his eyes on his instrumentation as he said, "Still no indications of main power on whatever it is. Does that mean it's adrift?"

Professor Bergman answered, "That is a reasonable assumption. But we've seen enough during our travels to know that even reasonable assumptions can lead us astray," he clasped his hands together and tapped the clenched fingers against the bottom of his chin. "Yes, it's best to play it safe for now."

"Assume the worst, Victor?" The Commander asked with a wry smile. "That doesn't sound like you."

The pilot's voice broke up their discussion: "I've got a visual. Man, check this out, Alpha. This thing is…it's really something."

Eagle Three relayed images to the view screen as the craft came in to focus. It was big; longer than a dozen eagles lined nose-to-baffle one after another and nearly half that size wide. A round area—most likely the bridge—sat at the end of a neck-like tube that ran back to a mess of a body. This area—the central area—was several levels tall and sprouted two more tubes, one stretching out to port, the other to starboard, each ending in a rectangular section. Additional decks led down into what had to be cavernous area.

"Not very pretty, Alpha," Peter Irving mused.

"Not very pretty at all," Victor Bergman echoed Irving's assessment. "But John, take a good look. The materials…the design…not too far off from our own type of spacecraft."

"That wasn't built on Earth, Victor."

"No, no, of course not," Bergman agreed. "There—look. Paul, zero in on that image; the central junction between the two wing-like beams."

Paul Morrow complied, freezing one image from Eagle Three's cameras and zooming in. The resolution was not sharp, but enough to show what drew the Professor's attention.

"Doors, John. Air locks," Bergman pointed excitedly. "Judging by the proportions, we're talking about beings similar in size and shape to ourselves."

Kano—sitting in the center of the action at his computer control console—read from a print out: "The nearest star system is less than one light year away. Perhaps they came from there?"

Sandra—sitting along the left row of consoles--optimistically suggested, "It would be nice if we could go to them."

Paul shared the bad news: "That system is not along our flight path. So unless you can get this moon to make a hard right turn, we're out of luck. Again."

Commander Koenig scratched his chin with his thumb and forefinger and considered Victor's hypothesis for a moment. Then he spoke to Sandra whose initial smile had reversed into a frown at Paul's news: "Any communication from that ship? Any response?"

"No, Commander. I continue to broadcast on all frequencies. If there is someone onboard they are _not_ answering."

"Perhaps they can't," the Professor suggested.

"A sudden change to optimism, Victor?"

"Well…let's just say my curiosity has been piqued."

Koenig leaned forward with his hands on Paul's desk and asked Kano, "What more does computer have to say?"

Another slip of paper printed on the computer officer's control panel. He ripped it clear, read to himself, and then shared the information.

"Computer confirms…the ship is caught in the moon's gravitational pull. It will settle into an unstable orbit around the moon within the hour."

"Unstable?" Koenig asked. "Are you sure?"

"Commander, computer is very precise on the matter."

Victor raised a finger, tilted his head, and asked Kano, "_Precisely_ how long does computer calculate we have until the orbit decays and the craft crashes into the moon?"

Kano licked his lips and, somewhat embarrassed, reported, "Adjusting hours to calendar measurements, computer says the space ship will impact the moon surface in four hundred and twenty seven years, eighteen weeks, and seventy-two hours."

Paul sneered, "That's what computer calls an _unstable_ orbit?"

Kano repeated, "Computer is very precise on all matters."

Commander Koenig chuckled and said, "Okay, it's settled. Alan, I need two more Eagles on the deck ready for take off in ten minutes. Paul, you and Sandra are coming along for the ride with a security team and Dr. Russell from Medical," then he stood straight and told them all, "Looks like we have a new neighbor on the block. We're going to go over and knock on the door."

---

The retrorockets on Eagles One whined and then blasted the ship from the pad and into the sky above moon base Alpha. There it rendezvoused with Eagle Two and headed off into space to join Eagle Three.

Alan Carter sat at the pilot's controls with John Koenig in the other command module seat. The strange space ship closed in on the moon with the much-smaller profile of Eagle Three on its flank.

"What do you make of it, Alan?"

"She's no beauty queen, that's for sure," the pilot snickered. "But hey, Commander, in space it's not about aerodynamics. It's about function."

"And what do you see when you look at that? What kind of function?"

"To be honest, it kind of reminds me of one of the _Cherbourg_-class frigates the EU was workin' on back in the early 90s, to haul payloads to and from the moon, but armed incase the Chinese started acting up. Just take a look; definitely the bridge at the end of that neck but the center looks like a big square bucket to haul stuff. I'll bet if we look close we'll see some pretty big outer bulkheads for rollin' cargo straight into her belly."

"And the wings?"

"I dunno…maybe crew quarters and secondary storage areas. Hard to say."

They drew closer. The ship measured huge by Eagle standards; bigger than a couple of Ultra probes lashed together, but not even a noticeable speck on the biggest ship they had ever seen; the Darian generation ark. Still, its size nearly filled the cockpit windows.

The bulkhead door at the rear of the Command module slid open. Dr. Helena Russell took one step in.

"Are we there yet?" She asked, smiled, and admitted, "Sorry…I couldn't resist." Then she saw the beast in the window. "My God, John, that's big. Do we know how long it's been adrift?"  
"Victor doesn't think it's been too long; we've picked up small electrical discharges; probably low power equipment like lights or door controls; so whatever it is, it isn't completely dead."

Carter chimed in, "Just no engine power. So yeah, it's drifting."

"But probably not for too long," Koenig added. "Maybe even hours."

Helena glanced at the ship. It wasn't intimidating, but it wasn't sleek, either. It had a purpose about it; little in the way of aesthetics. Yet as Victor had observed in Main Mission, the construction and the style suggested it was crafted by a race with an eye for spaceships similar to humans'.

"John, are you sure we should be getting involved?"

"Helena, it's going into orbit around our moon. We're involved whether we like it or not. Now go strap in, we're going to dock."

Helena stole another glance out the window and left; the bulkhead door shut tight.

Koenig pushed a switch on the co-pilot console.

"Eagle Two…Davis, there are air locks all around that central structure. Move in and dock at the one at the ten o'clock position. We'll latch on at the four o'clock slot."

"Understood, Commander," came the reply from the pilot who flew Paul, Victor, and Sandra to the ship.

"Eagle Three…Pete, you hang back and keep an eye on things from the outside."

"Will do, Commander."

Koenig turned to his pilot. "Okay Alan, take us in. Nice and easy."

"You're the boss."

The two Eagles split and approached the ship from different angles using similar tactics. They matched the slow-moving craft's speed, descended until parallel with their respective docking hatches, and then eased close using maneuvering thrusters. Once in perfect position, each of the smaller crafts extended short docking tunnels until they achieved a solid seal. Eagle Three hung back above the dormant engines of the alien ship, watching the entire docking process from afar.

"John," Victor's voice and face played on Eagle One's console. "I've got preliminary readings…oxygen atmosphere, approximately seventy-two degrees. It's breathable John, and warm enough. That means whatever happened here didn't happen that long ago."

"It also means," Carter cracked as he slid his pilot seat back, "That we don't need to wear a damn pumpkin suit."

"You might want one," Koenig said as he, too, unbuckled and stood. "Depending on what we find in there."

The two men exited the command module as Alan countered, "Depending on what we find in there, Commander, it's easier to run without one."

Moments later the Alphans of the two Eagles crossed their short docking tubes and opened the internal air locks to the strange ship. The crews entered on opposite sides of a large, wide-open chamber that served as the center of the large ship. They found it dark, with only scattered lights providing illumination; emergency lights, or so it seemed.

Three corridors led away from the central hub while in the middle of the rectangular chamber sat a circular well with a heavy door in the floor; a door that apparently led down to what Carter had thought of as a cargo bay.

Victor and Paul walked across from Eagle Two, leaving the pilot Davis at the door with his hand gripped nervously on a holstered laser. Sandra peaked out from behind the pilot like a timid animal nervous about leaving the safety of her burrow. Paul turned to her and waved. She smiled, nervously, and joined him.

Koenig, Carter, and Helena came out of Eagle One along with two security guards.

"John, it's fantastic!" Victor exclaimed and his voice bounced around the high-ceilinged chamber. "Clearly the beings who made this ship are of the same type as ourselves; perhaps even human, in a fashion. The doors, the gravity, the air it's all—"

"Victor, let's save the celebration for now until we know why this ship is floating unpowered through space." He turned and spoke to the gathered teams. "First stop is the bridge, which I'm guessing is that way," and he pointed toward a corridor that lead off in the direction of what he felt was the front of the ship. That would be the 'neck', or so it appeared from space. "Victor, you and Paul with me. The rest of you stay here with the ships. If that is the bridge, maybe we can figure out what's wrong. But I don't want any exploring until we get back, now is that understood?"

"John…"

"Helena, if someone is injured up there I'll come get you. But don't argue with me. Not now. Carter, I want you and Davis ready to blast us out of here at a moment's notice, got it?"

"Like I said, Sir," Carter cocked a grin. "Easier to run without the space suit."

"Sandra, contact Kano back at Main Mission and let him know we've docked safely and so far…well, so far no welcoming committee."

"Yes, Commander."

John tapped the laser holstered to his side. Paul carried one, too, but not Bergman. He led them toward the front of the ship. As was the case in the center chamber, the long corridor that stretched toward the bridge was illuminated by a handful of lights, giving the passageway a twilight feel.

As they neared the front they heard the faint sound of equipment at work; nothing more than a subtle hum but it suggested something still lived on the ship, even if just the craft's machines.

The 'bridge' consisted of a circular room with a wide, thin window looking out at space. Koenig could see the moon growing larger and larger as the vessel eased into a loose orbit.

Between that long window and the corridor from which the Commander and his two friends entered ran three rows of chairs and several long, sweeping consoles both in front of and overhead of the seats. Despite being of large size, the sheer volume of instrumentation—particular that built into the ceiling—gave the bridge a tight, confined feel.

Several of the buttons blinked and flashed as did a couple of monitors. And while none of them knew what those buttons controlled or what those monitors displayed, it was easy to see that the controls were made for fingers and thumbs and minds similar to their own.

"Looks like you were right, Professor," Paul said as he ducked to pass beneath a low-hanging cluster of gauges. "Very much like us."

Professor Bergman approached a panel near the front of the bridge. Several lights there as well as an electronic read out caught his eye.

"John, this technology is very similar to our own; the makers of this vessel must be at a similar technological level; perhaps slightly more advanced, but not that far off."

"Your point, Professor?" Paul asked.

Bergman pointed at the controls in front of him but carefully avoided actually touching.

"The wavelengths depicted on this scanner suggest a signal; a transmission coming to this ship but it appears to be being blocked."

Paul's face screwed in confusion and he asked, "By what?"

"I don't know. Perhaps if we can find a way to unblock it, we could learn a little more. Of course, that's all conjecture; an assumption that they are, in fact, as like us as first glance suggests."

Koenig interrupted their conversation from his position between rows of work stations. He spoke but his eyes remained fixed on the floor.

"Conjecture, Victor? I think it's safe to say that whoever built this ship is a lot like us."

Bergman and Paul heard an edge in the Commander's voice, saw that he stared at something on the floor, and hurried to his side.

Koenig repeated, "Very much like us."

There, wearing a blue jumpsuit with an insignia of a cluster of planets and some kind of rank, lay unconscious a brunette woman who looked very much like any other human being.

MARTIN LANDAU

BARBARA BAIN

SPACE 1999

THIS EPISODE

Eagle Docking with an unknown, large spaceship… Red Alert flashes on a screen on a Commpost…a massive explosion in space above the moon…THIS EPISODE…Dr. Mathias examining brain scans on a light box in Medical…a dark haired woman in a blue jumpsuit flipping a Security Guard in a room in Alpha…an alien with brownish/bronze reptilian skin on the viewer in Main Mission…Carter and Victor with flashlights moving through a dark corridor…an Eagle flying around the big, unknown spaceship…a big cylinder device glowing with blue energy in the middle of a darkened room…THIS EPISODE…a dark-haired woman in a blue jump suit sleeping in a bed in Medical…a humanoid in a white spacesuit with a closed, gold faceplate wielding a nasty-looking rifle of some kind…a large silver ship passing overhead of Alpha…a dark-haired woman holding an Alphan laser gun and pointing it at Helena…an out-of-control Eagle falling out of space right at Alpha moon base…Sandra holding her head and screaming in terror.

**A Note from me** (consider this a commercial break)

I invite you to read some of my original work currently on display in the electronic slushpile named 'authonomy'. Just follow the link below and you'll find my profile there, from which you can read and—hopefully—'back' (kind of like voting for) and/or comment on my stories (one is the first book in my Beyond Armageddon series that was nearly published by Baen books a few years go). If I manage to get in the top 10 anytime soon, I promise to write at least two more Space 1999 fanficts! See my profile for the link!


	2. Chapter 2

ANOMALY

Eagle Two broke the seal with the alien spaceship. Maneuvering thrusters fired and the craft pushed away until completely clear of the vessel that now orbited the moon. At that point the main engines kicked in and Eagle Two began the return trip to Alpha, slowly losing altitude and drifting down over the rim of the crater that served as home to moon base.

In the passenger module Dr. Helena Russell stood alongside the gurney were her unconscious patient lay: the woman found on the floor of the derelict ship's bridge. The security guards who had been a part of the boarding party sat nearby keeping a cautious eye on that patient.

Helena raised her Commlock and, after a sharp click, the face of Dr. Mathias appeared on the tiny view screen.

"Bob, prepare Medical for one patient. From what I can see, she is a human female approximately thirty years old, but I don't have detailed scanning equipment with me."

"Understood. What is her condition?"

"Unconscious. The reason has not yet been determined. The only visible injury is a small matting of blood on the back of her head, most likely caused by a fall. Other than that…I do not see any physical trauma."

"We'll be ready."

Helena switched off the Commlock, gazed at her patient, and sighed.

Ed Davis had piloted Eagle Two to the ship and he piloted it on the return trip as well. However he had exchanged passenger manifests with Eagle One. Carter, Bergman, Sandra, and Paul remained on the alien vessel; John Koenig sat in the co-pilot's seat of Eagle Two.

Davis said, "Two minutes, Commander. We're cleared for pad Four."

Koenig nodded, considered, and then activated the communications console on his side of the cockpit. After a moment Paul Morrow's image appeared.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Paul, check out the rest of that ship, but be careful."

"Yes, Sir, but that won't be easy with the power at such low levels."

"Do what you can," Koenig replied. "Eagle Two, out."

---

"Well, there you have it," Paul slipped the Commlock onto his utility belt. "Commander says to have a look around."

Paul, Sandra, and Victor Bergman stood in the central hub of the ship. Three corridors led off from their position; one to the bridge where they had found the unconscious woman; one to starboard, another to port. It appeared a fourth exit led down, but a heavy bulkhead set in the floor blocked that avenue.

"Yes, well," Bergman mused as he knelt near the portal in the floor. "That might be difficult," and he fiddled with a small panel that appeared to control the door.

Carter spoke as he emerged from the airlock leading to Eagle One. He carried a pair of flashlights and a shoulder bag which he handed to Bergman. "Here you go professor, everything you asked for," Carter glanced around and then observed, "Lights are on, oxygen, heat…but no propulsion and the interior is locked down. I guess that's a glass half-empty."

"Well, no, just one moment," Bergman knelt by the locked door situated in the floor. "It's just a question of power. From what we can see, there is only power to a handful of systems onboard, and until we find a way to access the computer and turn things back on we're gong to have to provide an energy boost to open these doors." He fiddled about in the bag retrieved from the Eagle by Carter and produced a small, multi-function tool akin to a Swiss army knife. He used a tiny screwdriver attachment to pry at the panel of controls next to the sealed door. After some doing it gave way and revealed an orderly set of wires.

"There, see," Bergman waved his hand at the innards of the control. "So very much like our own technology. Let's have a go at it, shall we?" And he pulled his Commlock from its belt holster  
Sandra glanced around at the darkened chamber and nervously asked, "Professor, what are you doing?"

"Our Commlocks, Sandra," he answered. "They unlock doors, transmit communications and images, can be used as a locator, and so much more…including…"

Paul filled in the final blank: "Including as a power source, maybe to jump start a powerless lock, Professor?"

"Exactly," and Bergman hummed something from Gilbert and Sullivan as he slipped a panel off the side of his Commlock and intertwined the wires there with those inside the door control.

Paul said, "Professor, you said in the control room that you thought there was a signal being transmitted to this ship."

"Hmm? Oh yes, that. While Dr. Russell was evacuating her patient I investigated a little further but without actually activating some of the controls there is no way to know for sure. Hang on…almost got this. Are you paying attention? This procedure will most likely need to be repeated if we're going to explore this ship."

"Signal?" Alan squinted. "What signal?"  
Morrow told Alan and Sandra, "The Professor saw a readout on one of the controls that appeared to be a transmission to this ship but he thinks it's being blocked."

Bergman finished his wiring project as he told them, "All conjecture, Paul. Too early to surmise anything, really. And we'd be wise to—"

The floor hummed for a moment, a heavy lock gave way, and the portal slid open with a _clang_ revealing a ladder descending into darkness.

"There we go, easy enough."

---

The woman from the spaceship lay quiet on a bed in Medical, still wearing her blue jumpsuit. Helena and John stood back while Dr. Mathias and one of the nurses swept a white, u-shaped contraption over her body. A thin blue light sliced down from that contraption as it mapped her physical form and fed the results into the medical computer.

"Just the blood on her head," Helena said, again, to Koenig. "That's the only sign of injury."

"So what happened up there, Helena?"

"John," she turned to him and emphasized, "there's no way for us to know. I don't even know if the physiology is the same. The thermographic scan should provide more details but it will take some time for the data to be processed. Still," and she glanced at the woman, "she is very much like us. Another example, I suppose, of Victor's theory on carbon-based life developing along similar lines. We've seen it before."

"We've seen a lot of things before, Helena. So why does this empty space ship make me nervous?"

She smiled—a little. "Because that's your job."

Dr. Mathias finished the scan and handed the equipment to the nurse, saying, "Take this to the computer to process the images."

The nurse complied and walked off. Just before Mathias followed her, he stopped and leaned over the patient.

"Dr. Russell, Commander…"

They joined him bedside. The brunette woman's eyes fluttered and her head swayed gently side to side. She raised a hand—weak and trembling—to her forehead.

"Easy, easy there," Helena comforted.

The woman opened her eyes, squinted in the bright shine of the room, and then worked to keep them open. She licked her lips and struggled to sit up; Dr. Mathias gave her a helping hand.

"Hello there," John Koenig said trying to temper his commander's voice with a measure of compassion.

The woman's mouth opened, closed, she swallowed, and then tried again.

"H-hello. Hello," and the woman's head swung about slowly soaking in her strange surroundings.

"You have a bump on your head," Helena told her. "But other than that, you appear to be in good shape. You've been unconscious since we found you in the control room of your ship."

"My…ship?"

She placed her head in her hands.

Koenig told her, "Your space ship has gone into orbit around our…" he considered his words and told her, "…around the planetoid that houses our base. When we received no communication we boarded, and found you lying on the control room floor."

The woman did not appear to hear. Her wide eyes and crinkled brow spoke of confusion and disorientation.

"Found…me…"

"You're safe here," Helena tried to comfort. "We mean you no harm and only wish to help you."

"Yes," the woman stumbled with the words. "I need…I need help."

Koenig glanced at Helena, folded his arms, and asked her, "How so?"

"Could you tell me…" she licked her lips again, glanced at Helena and Mathias and then fixed her eyes on Koenig."Could you tell me who I am?"

---

Paul and Sandra's flashlights settled on a big, horizontal bulkhead at the end of the long hall that sprouted out to starboard on the vessel. That hall had been lined with storage compartments and lit by thin panels of dim lighting.

"Okay then, time for us to give it a try," he told her and she handed him a small tool similar to the one Victor had used to hotwire the cargo hatch door. Paul managed to pry off the door controls and then open his Commlock. A moment later the wires were connected and—with the push of the auxiliary power button on his device—the bulkhead slid open.

Most of the air of the ship smelled stale and artificial, just as the air on Alpha smelled; the aroma of recycled atmosphere. That aroma changed—slightly—when the door opened. Paul immediately tasted a faint floral bouquet in one breath; a musty odor in the next.

The stretch of spaceship beyond that door explained why. Small chambers—rooms—lined the walkway to either side.

The investigating Alphans looked inside one and saw a small bed not unlike the kind they slept in back on moon base. Around the bed on desks and shelves rested personal knickknacks. Paul saw a statue of person playing some kind of game, photographs of a family that could have been from Earth, a model of a propeller-driven fighter plane that made him think of a P-51 Mustang from his own history papers, a squat container holding fragrant yellow and green flowers, and a thick red candle half-melted from previous use.

"These _must_ be the crew quarters," Sandra spoke the obvious.

The two visitors strode along cautiously using their flashlights to check in each compartment and taking mental notes along the way.

"Twenty five beds," he said.

Sandra pointed out, "But only five appear to be habited."

She spoke the truth. Most of the compartments hosted bare mattresses and no signs of personal affects; empty. Five were clearly recently used.

"A smaller crew than normal? Is that what this means?"

She answered, "I do not know, Paul. I can only tell you what I see."

Clearly the derelict ship and the lack of answers drew San's nerves taught. He threw an arm around her and assured, "It's okay, Sandra. There's no one here."

"Yes," her eyes darted toward shadows and into empty compartments. "I wonder why that is so?"

Paul's Commlock beeped. He gave her a quick, friendly squeeze and then answered the call. Commander Koenig stared at him over the video screen.

"Paul. What's your status?"

He glanced around the empty chamber full of sleeping compartments and tried to conjure an answer.

"We've found what looks to be the crew quarters. They are empty, Commander. We count twenty-five but only five of them have been used recently."

"Paul, stand bye."

Down on Alpha moon base in the Medical center, John Koenig stepped away from the Commpost and over to their visitor. She stood alongside the medical bed on unsure legs with Helena providing some support.

"Can I show you something?" Koenig said to her as kindly as he could but his voice always carried a measure of sternness.

"John, it is not uncommon for a head injury to cause loss of memory. Just give her time; no need to push."

"No, it's okay," the woman said, and walked carefully to his side. "I want to know."

"We have people on your ship," he explained. "We're just trying to find out what happened to you and your crew. They are there now. They can transmit images here, to this screen, from inside your ship. Do you understand?"

She soaked in his words and then nodded curtly.

"I'm hoping we might be able to stimulate your memory."

He spoke to Paul on the Commpost: "Transmit images from those crew quarters, Paul."

He complied, pointing his Commlock in several of the quarters that were unused, and then those that were. As the video feed moved from room to room the woman peered closer and closer at the picture; she reached out and stroked a finger across the screen as if trying to tough those images.

Suddenly her eyes widened and she tapped the monitor.

"Chrys…Chrysillias."

"What? What's that? Paul, hold there."

The video screen remained focused on a painting pinned above one of the neatly-made beds. The crisp, precise piece of art depicted a green planet with sharp white clouds surrounded by a pair of jagged moons with a pale star in the background.

The woman repeated. "Chrysillias. I know that place. I…I remember."

Helena touched her shoulder and whispered, "What do you remember?"

"Paul, sweep that room with your Commlock. Show us everything, slowly."

"My…my home. That is where I am from. Yes, I remember that now. How could I forget?"

Paul's video feed found a photograph of an animal about the size of a horse sporting two horns and a sharp snout.

"Those quarters might be yours. Look here," Koenig pointed to the new image. "Do you remember this photo?"

"That's my marehiss. Yes…yes when I was a child we went riding through the mountains. My Papa and I. And my two…my two…brothers…no, no…" and she backed away from the image.

Helena clasped her shoulders to steady the woman.

"John. Enough. It's too much."

"Paul…continue with your search. Alpha out."

He switched off the Commpost but followed Helena and the woman to the medical bed.

"Your brothers…does that cause you to remember something?"

Helena shot John a disapproving glare. He ignored her.

"Yes…yes," and she sniffled, on the verge of tears. "I feel sad."

Koenig tried a different tract: "Okay, you recognized that planet. Your home planet. Is it one of the planets on your uniform?"

The woman gained control and shot him a puzzled look. Dr. Mathias appeared at the woman's side with a mirror and held it so as to reflect the insignia of the cluster of planets on her shoulder as well as a series of dots that appeared to indicate rank.

The woman stared at the reflection for several seconds. So long that Helena and John shared a look that suggested they both wondered if she were still awake.

Then the woman spoke.

"I am Lt. Juynan Hannah…yes, that is who I am," and she turned to first Helena and then John with excited eyes. "That is my name."

"What about your brothers?" John pushed that button and Helena's eyes nearly pierced the Commander with disapproval.

Juynan's excitement faded fast.

"They are dead."

"How?"

"I…I don't know. I can't remember. I see images of explosions and fire. I hear screams in my head!" And she stood and paced with more strength then she had shown to that point. "Screams! Fire! The house in the hills…all gone…destroyed."  
"By who?"

"I don't know! I can't remember!"

Helena intervened.

"Okay, okay, calm down. That's enough for now. Just relax."

Juynan tensed…and then relaxed again, practically falling onto the medical bed and raising fingers to her temples.

Koenig ran a hand across his forehead, along his cheek, and grabbed his chin. He knew more, but what he had learned did not make him feel any better. In fact, his concern grew exponentially.

---

Eagle Three made a long sweeping turn and decelerated as it moved toward the undercarriage of the alien space ship.

"I'm making another pass," Irving transmitted to Main Mission.

Tanya's voice answered from Alpha: "We're receiving the images, Peter."

"My kind of day; just out here flying around."

"At least you're not cooped up on base."

"Roger that, Alpha. But still, it'd be nice to have some company. Say Tanya, you feel like taking a ride in Eagle Three? I could swing down and pick you up?"  
Tanya giggled softly and transmitted, "Sorry Eagle Three, your transmission is breaking up."

Irving let out a quick chuckle as his craft fell under the shadow of the alien craft. He used his eyes and his scanners to inspect the vehicle. This pass revealed what all the other passes had revealed: nothing.

"She's clean, Alpha. I've covered every inch of this thing. No sign of damage. Whatever happened, happened on the inside. Do you copy, sweetheart?"

In Main Mission before Tanya could reply Kano pushed the transmit button.

"We read you, Eagle Three."

Onboard the shuttle Irving sat up straight in his harness and lost any trace of a smile. Kano finished with, "Commander Koenig wants you to stay on station until further notice."

"Understood, Alpha," Irving's voice broadcast.

Kano jabbed, "This is sweetheart, over and out."

---

In the belly of the beastly ship, Alan Carter and Victor Bergman worked their way through a wide, dark hall. The taught beams of their flashlights cut through like lasers, revealing walls sporting dents, chips, and scratches; the type of imperfections and damage that came with hard work, Carter noted. The work of a cargo ship.

They had already inspected three small storage bays when they came upon the fourth. Bergman used his Commlock to jump start the door and it opened to another empty space.

"Again?" Carter's voice cracked in surprise. "I just don't get it, Professor. If this is a cargo ship, where's the cargo?"

"Hmmm, maybe they were on a return trip; their cargo already delivered."

"No, now wait a sec, Professor, that doesn't add up. The nearest star system is a good light year away; there isn't anything out here. Why would you send an empty freighter into deep space?"

"For that matter," Bergman followed Carter's thought, "why would you send a full one into deep space? I think the answer is still around here somewhere. Come on, it's a big ship, still a chance of finding a clue or two."

The men turned their flashlights forward and continued onward into the dark.

---

"John," Helena led the Commander to a far corner of Medical. She held a series of transparencies displaying thermographic images of the patient in her hands and glanced at them as she spoke. "Juynan has undergone trauma of either a physical nature or psychological. But our preliminary tests show nothing that could account for this."

He pointed gently at her as he said, "But they do show that Juynan is very much like us; human."

"Yes, she is another example of Bergman's theory of parallel development. Minor differences? I'm sure more in-depth scanning will reveal that. But in all practical terms she is human. That means her planet might be suitable for us."

"Sure," he answered. "But there's nothing along our immediate flight path. Chances are she's from a system about one light year away; too far off for us to survey or try to evacuate to."

"Then it's all academic," Helena said but John didn't listen.

"I'm wondering what happened out there," and he pointed toward the window and outer space.

"I don't know when she'll remember, John."

Dr. Mathias stepped into their conversation. Helena handed him the transparencies.

"Bob, run the thermographic scans you did through the computer for enhancement. If we dig a little deeper we might be able to find something more."

Mathias told her what she already knew: "That will take some time, doctor."

Koenig asked, "What's her condition now?"

Mathias turned his head to look across Medical to where Juynan lay in bed with her eyes wide open and her hands tapping her sides.

"She's lying down but isn't getting any rest. Physically, she appears in good condition. Mentally, she is confused and tense. She wants to know what happened on that space ship as much as we do."

Koenig snapped his fingers.

"Spaceship. Yes, that's it. She reacted to the photos of the crew quarters. Maybe she'll react to something else."

---

Kano glanced at his console, then at the monitors under the view screen at the front of Main Mission, then at his console again.

"Tanya," he said. "Tell Irving to review his onboard scanner tapes for power readings during his last pass."

"What is it, David?"

"Just have him check," and Kano left his station, walked around the collection of desks at the heart of the room, and approached the computer banks along the wall beneath the balcony. There he punched in data and awaited a response.

"David," Tanya called from her post. "Peter's records show a brief spike in power readings during his last fly by. It appears to have come from the underbelly of the vessel near the stern."

Kano ignored her while reading a slip of paper from computer.

"David, did you hear me?"

"There _was_ a power spike," he said. "Computer confirms. But it was not generalized. It is still there but…but muffled. As if it is being shielded."

Tanya repeated, "Eagle Three's sensors indicate a previously undetected power source in the lower levels of the vessel."

Kano walked to what was normally Paul's desk.

"It was there all the time, just too weak for us to pick up at long range." Kano activated the communicator on the console. "Professor Bergman, are you receiving me?"

In the dark hall at the bottom of the ship, Victor Bergman received Kano's communication as he and Carter progressed deeper into the shadows.

"Yes, Alpha, we're here."

"Professor, we are recording energy readings from the lower levels of the ship."

Carter thought out loud, "We're in the lower levels."

Kano: "Have you found anything yet?"

Bergman glanced to Carter who shook his head. Bergman transmitted, "Nothing yet, David. A lot of empty storage rooms. Quite puzzling, actually."  
"Professor, the readings are strong but confined, as if the ship is shielded to contain the energy signature. Have you explored the entire vessel?"

Carter's flashlight shined upon one more bulkhead; a big one stretching floor to ceiling and marking the end of the dark corridor.

"Professor…"

The men stopped moving forward. Bergman's light joined Carter's.

"No," Victor answered Kano's question. "But I think we're about to."

---

Junyan stood in front of the Commpost, her expression blank but her eyes fixed on the images; locked on them.

"These were taken by one of our transport ships," Koenig explained for the third time because it did not seem as if she listened. The video footage playing before her eyes came from Eagle 3's cameras and presented a detailed tour around the exterior of the stranger's ship.

Helena worried, "Are you all right? Do you want to sit down?"

Juynan finally spoke.

"I remember, now. Planetary Alliance ship _Denapolis_. That's my ship. Captain Krager commanding; first officer and navigator Sheffan Tott…helmsman Dabu…engineer Mennolly Phaust, and…and payload specialist Lt. Juynan Hannah."

She turned to Koenig as if seeking validation. He could do no more than return her stare.

"Five people on your ship," and he pointed to the image of the _Denapolis_ on the Commpost monitor. "You saw what my people found; crew quarters for five times that number. Why so few? And where are your shipmates."

She turned away fast, threw her arms up and started, "I don't know!" Then she stopped because she did know. She remembered.

Koenig saw that in her wavering posture.

"Juynan, your ship is in orbit around our base. That puts my people in danger. I need to know what you know. It's the only way we can help you and it's the only way I'll know Alpha is safe."

"I think…I believe…" she struggled with the words, fidgeted with her fingers, and faced him after a quick glance Helena's way."A secret mission, Commander. Reduced crew size…yes, I remember. The computer system was upgraded to handle most of the ship's functions so that the crew size could be reduced to minimum."

"Why? Where were you going?"

She placed a hand on her forehead and complained, "I don't know. I can't remember. It's in front of me…in the dark…I just can't quite see. I want to remember!"

Helena comforted, "Easy, Juynan, don't force yourself. Let it come back in time, there's no rush," and she shot John yet another expression of disapproval.

"I can only tell you that it was important. _Critical._ I feel like what I'm doing…the lives of my entire planet; of many planets depends on it. I can feel that right here," and she touched her chest above her fast-beating heart. "I would sacrifice everything for them, Commander. For the Alliance. For Chyrsilias. We all would…all five of us. That's why we were chosen. No, wait. Why we _volunteered_."

He pushed, "Volunteered for what? Are my people in danger?"

"I don't know!" Then calmer. "I don't know."

---

Victor fumbled with the wires on his Commlock as Carter held his flashlight steady to illuminate the Professor's work. Alan kept glancing around at the darkness; something played on his nerves. More than the dark. More than the mystery. A feeling of energy building in the corridor…in the ship…all around him.

"A little…a little bit tricky here…" Bergman mumbled. If the atmosphere bothered Victor he did not show it. "Okay, that about does it."

A sharp clang reverberated through the hall. The massive bulkhead retreated to the sound of heavy wheels rolling along metal tracks.

Strobes of blue light assaulted the two men; flashing and rolling from the center of large cargo bay. After so long in the dark the glow blinded the men for several seconds. Carter looked away; Bergman raised an arm to shield his eyes.

A steady, throbbing drum accompanied the light; a vibration through the floor plates, the walls, and even their bones. The air grew thick with a sharp static crackle.

Their eyes adjusted.

"What is it, Professor?"

Of course Bergman offered no answer.

The light came from a cylinder approximately five meters high and half that size in girth. Black metal slats held the centerpiece steady and from inside that cylinder came repeating bursts of blue energy.

Whatever the device was, the huge main cargo hold was empty save for it. Dark and empty. Whatever purpose this contraption served it had been vital enough to be the only piece of cargo on a deep space freighter.

---

For the third time John Koenig presented Juynan with images on the Commpost. This time the broadcast came from Victor's Commlock and it showed that cylinder and its flashing energy filling an otherwise big and empty cargo bay.

Juynan studied the image for a long time but her eyes did not grow wide; they shrunk to slits. Her hands did not stroke the monitor, they clenched in fists. John and Helena could see her defenses rise; the tension grip her.

She knew this device. For the first time they saw not a frightened, unsure woman but the person who wore the uniform: the Lieutenant of the Planetary Alliance who bore responsibility for this device. In her chiseled expression John Koenig saw a hardened soldier.

"Well?"  
She did not want to answer. Not now that she remembered her mission. But she did nonetheless.

"I remember, Commander. I remember everything now."

"Then tell me."

"You asked before if your people are safe," she answered. "I can tell you they are not."

He glanced at Helena, at the monitor again, and then to her.

"What do you mean? Is that a threat?"

"No, not from me. I am an officer in the Planetary Alliance. We are at war, Commander. We have been at war. A war that killed my brothers when my home world was bombarded."

"Who are you at war with?"

"The Vorion Imperium. Yes, I remember them. How could I forget? They killed my family when I was young. My Papa, my mother, my brothers. I have no one left because of them."

"And this device," he tapped the video screen. "Is it a weapon?"

"Not just a weapon, Commander. _The_ weapon. The final weapon. The weapon that will win the war for the Planetary Alliance. How could I forget?"

Helena concluded, "You're transporting it to your front lines…for use against your enemy? A secret mission, John, with a reduced crew taking a route far out through deep space."

"Yes, doctor. And my crew and I will complete our mission. For the sake of my people. For revenge against those who killed my family."

Koenig asked, "What kind of weapon? Is it armed?"

"It is not armed but it is highly unstable. I suggest you tell your people to not go near it. If it were to detonate it the blast might consume your entire planetoid. It is an anti-matter device."

Helena gasped. "An anti-matter bomb? That could cause devastation on a planetary scale!"

"Yes, Doctor. That's the idea."

"That answers one question, Juynan," the Commander said. "It doesn't tell us what happened to you or your crew."

---

Paul and Sandra neared the end of their journey from the crew quarters on the starboard side to the closed bulkhead on the port side. As they neared that sealed door Paul spied something on the ground.

"Hello, what is this?"

He bent over and examined a silver device that featured a pistol grip with indentations in the shape of fingers and a thick barrel.

"Paul, it is a weapon."

"Yes," and he handled it; his fingers too big for the inserts but he could grip the pistol nonetheless. "Not sure how it works."

"Put it away, Paul. I am frightened by it."

"Okay," and he gently placed it on the floor against the wall. "Let's see what we've got in here."

Paul approached the control panel for the bulkhead, used the tiny screwdriver to remove the plate, and went to work attaching his Commlock to the circuits.

"One more jump start. I think we've seen just about everything on this ship."

Sandra folded her arms tightly against her chest, shivered, and told him, "I will be happy to return to Alpha."

"That should do it…"

And it did. After a quick _clang_ the bulkhead door slid open. Several shards of light from panels on the ceiling slipped out from within. Paul and Sandra's flashlights joined this faint illumination.

But Sandra dropped her flashlight. It rolled on the floor…her hands came to her ears and she screamed; a shocked howl of fear and revulsion…her flashlight beam rolled over and over flickering through the room…on to the tables and chairs…onto the bloody bodies wearing blue jump suits riddled with wounds…over dead people staring out at her, expressions of shock and fear forever frozen in their eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Juynan sat at the conference table in Commander Koenig's office with Helena to her side. John Koenig paced anxiously until Kano walked from Main Mission, past the open bulkhead, and to the conference area carrying a stack of photographs.

"Computer has completed printing the images," and he handed them to Koenig, hovered for a moment, and then returned the way he had came.

Koenig paged through the prints.

Juynan glanced nervously to Helena and then to the Commander.

"What is it?"

Koenig sighed.

"These are photographs from our boarding party on your ship. These are images of what we found in the room on the port side. I…" he hesitated for a long moment. "I don't know what to say." He walked around the table and handed the photographs to her.

Juynan accepted them and paged through rapidly. As she did, her eyes widened, her hands trembled and her mouth gaped. Then she threw the pictures onto the table top and cradled her face in her hands.

"No…no this can't be!"

"That's what we found, Juynan," the Commander paced again. "No other survivors."

Helena gave the woman a hug helping to somewhat muffle her sobs.

"Sheffan…he had children. He kept saying how he hated the weapon but knew it would give his daughters a chance at a life of peace. Mennolly lived on the planet Tourmaline; she used to tell us about her house there that overlooked the whirlpools of the Dancing Sea."

Helena whispered, "I'm sorry about your friends, Juynan."

"They weren't just my friends," she said with her head still in her hands. "They were my crew mates; my brothers and sisters in the war. We volunteered. They all…despite all the risk…wanted to do this."

Koenig hesitated, scratched his chin, and then pushed forward.

"I have people on your ship, Juynan. I have a base with three hundred personnel here. I'm sorry about your crew mates, but I have to worry about Alpha. So I need to know, is there anything else on your ship?"

"The weapon…the five of us…that's it. Sent into deep space to take a long route around the systems in the front line to rendezvous with a destroyer near Vorion space. I…I…"

She stopped sobbing.

Koenig urged, "Then who killed your crew, Juynan? You haven't been drifting for long: the blood on your head from your fall wasn't dry. We saw no other ships. What happened to your crew happened aboard your ship and not that long ago. You have to remember what happened!"

But Juynan had lost all interest in answering _his _questions. As she pulled her face from her hands the sad had disappeared, replaced with thin, sharp eyes and a firm expression that searched the Commander so intently that lasers might shoot at him.

"Yes, Commander, you're right. There were no other ships. What happened aboard the _Denapolis_ happened recently. The last thing I remember, we were on course and had just reached the half way point of our journey. We were in deep space and for the first time we relaxed; it seemed we had the universe to ourselves. I went to the bridge for a status check. The rest of the crew were in the recreation room eating meals and laughing about how easy the mission had gone. Something happened. I woke up in your Medical center and now I find my crew is dead."

Koenig's intensity faded, just a little, as he heard the accusation in her voice.

"Now wait just one moment—"

"Who are you people, Commander? What is this place? What are you doing in deep space?"

Helena fumbled and assured, "I explained this to you, Juynan."

"Yes, a traveling moon. Blasted away from your own planet. And you just happened to come across my ship?"

"That's enough," Koenig regained his composure. "I know we had _nothing_ to do with what happened on your ship. This is how we found it when we came to help. What I don't know is what happened before we came aboard but we found everything as it is right now: your ship settled into an orbit around our moon, drawn by the gravity. Your crew was dead—shot to death, it seems, by a weapon Paul found near the bodies—and you the only survivor. Imagine how that looks from our perspective."

She stood fast. Helena rose next to her. But Juynan did not speak; she kept her eyes glued on Koenig.

"I need you to remember, Juynan. I need to know everything."

"If your story is true about your traveling moon from a far away planet," she spat at him, "then this is none of your business."

"It is now," he told her and pressed a firm finger against the table top while jutting his jaw out as he barked. "You have a dangerous weapon on that ship. It could destroy everything down here."

"Take me back to the _Denapolis._ Leave me as you found me. If you are who you say you are, then you're getting in the middle of something that does not concern you."

Helena argued, "She's right, John. Maybe we should take Juynan back to her ship and help her get on her way."

He turned his head away from the two women and mumbled, "Under normal circumstances, I would." Then back to them, sternly. "But these are not normal circumstances."

The communications console on the Commander's desk on the far side of the big room beeped. He held his stare for a moment longer. Juynan huffed, turned away, and walked to the window to gaze out at the lunar landscape. Koenig gave Helena a glare and then hurried to his desk.

"Yes?"

On board the alien ship in the dark depths of the cargo hold, Professor Bergman held his Commlock and relayed his thoughts to Alpha. Carter circled the object slowly with a hand held scanner.

"John, our preliminary scans suggest this device is exactly what your guest says it is: a very powerful weapon."

"Paul filled you in on what he found?"  
Victor bit his lower lip, nodded his head, and answered Koenig, "Yes, yes he did. Very troubling business, this is."

"Troubling doesn't cover it, Victor. I've got a ship in orbit above Alpha that could take a bite out of the entire moon if it goes up. It's giving me a belly ache and I don't like that."

Victor reported, "Well, John, the scanners we have here are not nearly sophisticated enough to get a good read on this device, but so far I've come to two conclusions: first, the cargo bay here was shielded to mask the power signature. Exactly the type of thing you'd expect if these Planetary Alliance chaps were trying to hide this mission."

"Okay," Koenig accepted. "What else?"

"They've patched this contraption in to the main computer, most likely to keep the power fluctuations from getting out of control and, from what I've seen, the computer is functioning at a very low level. That could be bad, John."

Standing at his desk on Alpha, Koenig held up a fist with his thumb on top and bobbed it toward the video screen image of the Professor. "Victor, they upgraded the computer system to handle more of the ship's functions so they could limit the crew size."

"That's my point, John. If you upgraded your computer to handle the work of a crew, why would it be set to run at such a lower capacity? It's as if someone were trying to shackle the computer and inhibit its ability to run the ship and, yes, maintain control over this bomb."

Koenig murmured more to himself, "Why..?"

He raised his eyes away from the image and looked toward the ceiling. No answers loomed there, either.

"Okay Victor. You've given me something else to think about. Meet up with Paul and compare notes."

The Commander jabbed a switch and the communications screen went blank. He turned and gazed back across his office to the conference area toward the woman in the blue jumpsuit; the only survivor of a deep space mission on which, it seemed, the outcome of a war depended.

Koenig cursed the current of fate that had sent her derelict freighter into orbit around his moon. If that ship had passed unknown Alpha could have continued on through the void of space unmolested and the war between this Planetary Alliance and the Vorion Imperium could have raged without the Alphans.

Yet what was he to do now?

There were two possibilities. Maybe Juynan told the truth and some outside force—perhaps still hidden on that ship—had killed her crew, injured her, and left them derelict.

The other possibility? This woman had murdered her crew mates. Why? He could not fathom a reason. But if so, how could he return her to that ship knowing she possessed a weapon that could destroy all of Alpha? If she had murdered her crew certainly she would not hesitate to destroy them to eliminate the only witnesses to the crime.

He grabbed his forehead. He felt a head ache blooming between his temples to join the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He did not know what he would ultimately do; but he knew he needed to take one precaution at the very least.

Koenig pushed another button on his communications console. After he sent a brief message he returned to the conference area. Juynan left her window view and glared at him. Helena stood between and watched the verbal volley that came as if sitting center court at a tennis match.

"When will you return me to my ship? You have the means to do so, don't you?"

"Yes," Koenig nodded. "Our Eagle transports can take you to your ship whenever I deem it safe to do so."

"Safe? You are afraid of me?"

"I don't know," he admitted, sternly; no emotion on his face. "The weapon on your ship could obliterate this base."  
The woman gasped, "That weapon is to win a war for my people! That is its purpose; none other."

"John," Helena spoke softly. "If we just send her, on her way…"

Koenig erupted, "What would you have me do, Helena? If she is responsible for the death of her crew, then how do I know she won't use that weapon on us? That's what's at stake here."

Juynan growled, "The anti-matter bomb is our best hope to counter the Vorions superior technology. It's the best hope of my people. Maybe the only hope."

John cast his eyes down, considered, and then slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Until I know more I have to think of Alpha. And I have to consider every possible threat to _my_ people and guard against it."

Koenig drew his Commlock and pointed it toward the closed door that led to the outer hall. It beeped and slid open. A purple-sleeved, armed security officer stepped in to the office.  
Helena's mouth hung open in surprise for a long second before she said, "John. Is that necessary?"

"I hope not," he answered.

Juynan shot, "Is that it now, Commander? Are you going to throw me in your prison? Has this entire charade been to secure my ship and the weapon onboard?"

"No, Juynan. You're our guest. But I have to take precautions to protect my people. What would you do?"  
She promised but without a hint of empathy: "I would—I _will_--do anything to protect my ship, my cargo, and the Alliance."

"And so would I." He said.

Juynan replied, "Then we understand each other."

Koenig looked at her but spoke to the guard: "Johnson, escort Dr. Russell and Juynan back to Medical. She's our guest, but she's not to leave there without orders from me."  
"Yes, Commander."

Juynan reluctantly walked toward the guard and the hall with Helena close behind. The doctor stopped as she past John and asked, "Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"  
"No," he admitted. "But I really don't have much choice in the matter."

Koenig waited until the door slid shut and then traveled the distance from the conference area to Main Mission in a series of long strides. Secondary personnel filled the spaces vacated by Sandra, Paul, and Carter. Others moved in and out of this heart of Alpha as they carried data and materials both in to and out from to the variation sections of the base. Despite all the excitement, daily routines continued.

"Kano, what's our status?"

"Unchanged, Commander."

Koenig scratched his chin and then stepped through the ring of consoles until standing next to his computer specialist. He pointed to the image of the alien ship floating above the moon as he spoke.

"David, I want you to ask computer a question. Now Eagle One is still docked to the _Denapolis._ I want to know if the thrusters from our Eagle would be capable of moving that ship into a higher orbit and if the docking tube connection is strong enough to withstand those forces."

Kano mumbled, "Finally, a question computer is quite capable of answering without any guess work." He punched information on his console. "I will have an answer for you momentarily."

The Commander walked away and approached Paul's work station which was occupied by Tanya Aleksandr. They shared a look; he spied the concern for Paul on her face; she saw his worry for all of Alpha. Nonetheless, she flashed a smile. A sign of her confidence in him.

Koenig reached over her shoulder and activated the main viewer. Paul Morrow's face appeared.

"Paul. What's your situation there?"

"We're all here, Commander, near the airlock to Eagle One. Sir, we've checked every square inch of this ship and haven't found a thing."

"Only the murder weapon," Koenig pointed out.

Victor Bergman joined the conversation with his own Commlock: "Yes, John, I've taken a good look at that. Darned thing won't activate for us. We found a small armory of four more of the weapons in a locker off the bridge. Same thing: they don't react to our inputs. Must be some sort of built-in security we can't crack."

Before Koenig could chew too deeply on that information, Kano's computer console beeped and provided an answer to the Commander's question.

"Victor, Paul, stand by. Yes, Kano?"

Kano swiveled his work station around.

"Computer calculates Eagle One is capable of taxiing the _Denapolis_ into a much higher orbit or a parallel course to the moon and that the docking attachment could withstand the stress as long as engine power is not increased above twenty percent."

"Victor, did you hear that?"

"Yes, John. What are you getting at?"

"I'm getting at that weapon," Koenig answered. "I want that ship as far away from Alpha as possible, just in case. Tell Alan to use Eagle One to move the ship out of orbit and into a parallel course. I want distance between us and that anti-matter bomb."

Victor nodded. "We'll take care of it. I'll send Alan out straight away. It sounds to me as if you have a lot of questions concerning your guest."

Koenig hung his head, considered, and then replied, "I don't know, Victor. Is she insane? Is she a murderer? Or is she innocent? I wish I knew the answer. For now, that means we play it safe; until we know if she and that ship are dangerous to us."

---

Helena walked side-by-side with Juynan as they strode the corridors en route to Medical. The security guard Les Johnson trailed a step behind.

"What is your planet like, Dr. Russell?" the visitor asked.

"Earth? It's been so long, sometimes I have a hard time remembering. Oceans and lakes cover two-thirds of the surface of the planet. The rest is a combination of mountains, plains, forests, and arctic. What of your home, Juynan?"

"I remember my world clearly," she said softly as they maneuvered around a Commpost. "It's like I was there yesterday, but it's been a long time in truth. My family worked on a farm outside the capital city. We grew roots for sale at the growers markets and picked fruits from a small orchard in our yard."

"And you say the Vorions bombed your home?"

Juynan stumbled, just a little, and answered absently, "They bombed the city and in the attack run some of their…some of their weapons fell on our home. I can remember…can remember the orchard burning; plumes of smoke rising into the air and ashes falling back to ground."

"Juynan, are you okay?" They stopped moving.

"Yes, yes, I think so," and she raised a hand to the back of her head. "You say you found me with blood on my head?"

"That's right. I assumed it was from a fall after you went unconscious."

Juynan staggered and placed a hand for support on one of the big wide light panels built into the walls of the Alphan corridor.

"Doctor…doctor Russell, it hurts…a shooting pain in the back of my head."

Helena stepped close and reached for Juynan's head. As she did, the woman nearly fell backwards. Johnson reacted and grabbed her before she could fall.

"I'm…I'm okay, I think I've got it," she said and extended her arms as if balancing for a tight rope walk. "I feel dizzy. But I think I can walk."

She stood straight and Johnson pulled his supporting hands away.

Juynan's left hand chopped into the guard's throat. He instinctively raised a hand in reaction, leaving his gut open for a hard knee that made a distinct, painful thud as it hit home. His arms lost strength. Juynan grabbed hold, jammed her back and body into his, and then sent him flying with a perfectly executed judo flip.

"No!"

Helena grabbed at her shoulders only to be shrugged off against the wall.

Johnson, forcing himself to one knee, un-holstered his laser and brought it to bear but the flip had disorientated him and dulled his reflexes. Juynan easily kicked the weapon out of his hand. It slid across the floor. Without hesitation she brought her leg back around again, smacking the security guard square in the jaw. He tumbled over, his legs kicking for balance he could not find.

Dr. Russell reached for the laser weapon. The alien pulled it from Helena's grasp with surprising strength and pointed it at the doctor who stood stock still.

Juynan froze her stare at Helena for a long second, then quickly pivoted to face Johnson as he staggered to stand. She pushed the button atop the gun and a band of sharp energy shot out and enveloped the security guard, who grunted and fell limp to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Russell," she faced Helena again. 'I'm sorry I had to kill him."

Helena walked to Johnson, knelt, and checked for a pulse which she found easily.

"He's not dead," she answered. "The weapon was set to stun, Juynan. It's not our way to kill if we don't have to."

Juynan glanced at the top of the laser gun, considered, and told Helena, "Thank you for that information. If that setting only stuns," and she clicked the selector to the second of its two positions, "I'll assume this one kills. And Doctor Russell, I am a soldier in the middle of a war. I _am_ trained to kill."

Helena realized she had been duped, first by the fainting spell then by her mock concern for the guard. She regarded Juynan with a newfound respect…and concern.

The alien woman stepped forward and directed the weapon at Helena's head.

"Now, I'm returning to my ship, Doctor. And I'm not falling for any more of your Vorion tricks."  
---

Koenig stood behind Kano and thought aloud, "We have to figure out who killed that crew. We're going to need forensic experts to examine the bodies and technicians to understand the weapon."

Tanya pointed out, "It sounds as if we have an Agatha Christie mystery on our hands."

"John."

The voice came from the main viewer where Helena's face appeared. He knew Helena well enough to recognize the blank stare in her eyes. Something was very, very wrong.

He stood straight, faced the viewer, and tensed.

"Helena, what is it?"

Dr. Russell took a step backwards and the frame of the video feed widened revealing first a laser gun pointed at Helena's head and then the outstretched arm and body of the woman in the blue jump suit holding that weapon.

"Juynan! What is the meaning of this?!"

"I am returning to my ship, Commander. No more of your tricks."

He stretched his hands out palm-up and bobbed them as he argued, "We have been trying to help you. Just give us time to understand what happened."

She ignored his words and—with a slight, sardonic grin tugging at the sides of her lips—she warned, "The Vorions have always had better technology than the Alliance. Computers, tracking systems, communications, and even robotics. Are you their latest creation, Commander? At the battle of the Aratian Hills the Vorions sent in metal robots that looked like humans from a distance; they'd make it half way to the lines or to a guard post before they'd open fire—before we saw them for what they were. I've let you get too close; I'm done making that mistake."  
"What are you talking about?" He demanded. "Juynan, we aren't with the Vorions. We found your ship and came to help. We only want—"

"Enough! You are part of an elaborate trick to gain access to the anti-matter device. I have brought Dr. Russell to one of your travel tubes. She tells me this will lead to a launch pad. I expect one of your transports and a pilot on that launch pad immediately."

Koenig argued, "Juynan, I don't negotiate with someone who has a gun to the head of one of my people."

"Commander Koenig, if you believe I killed my crew—my friends—then you believe I will kill Dr. Russell or any of your people without hesitation. Alternatively, if you are part of a Vorion trick you will attempt to stop me; and I assure you I will not hesitate to kill Vorions. Either way, you will do as I instruct or Dr. Russell will die, along with as many of you as I can take with me."

Koenig could offer no reply other than hang his head low and shake it.

Kano told him, "They are at the travel tube reception area that leads to launch pad six."

Juynan called, "I'm waiting, Commander."

"All right!" Then softer. "Okay, damn it."

"And a pilot."

"You'll get your transport and a pilot, Juynan. Release Doctor Russell."

"Not until I am aboard my ship. Any attempt to interfere by shutting down your travel tube, sending your security people, or intercepting my return flight will result in her death. Don't mistake any of this for a negotiation. I've played your game; now you will do things my way."

The video screen switched off ending the transmission.

Kano, a step ahead, told him, "Eagle Four has been on stand by, Commander. It can be on the pad in eight minutes."

"Do it."

"Ed Davis is assigned to pilot Eagle Four."

Koenig shot, "Get him out of there," and he hurried toward the exit.

"Commander!" Tanya protested as she understood who would pilot Eagle Four.

Koenig called as he left, "…and all personnel—particularly security—out of their way."

---

In Medical, Dr. Mathias pulled another thermo graphic transparency from the diagnostic computer as he double-checked—yet again—the enhanced scans Dr. Russell had ordered before her abduction.

He hustled over to the wall-mounted light box, affixed the image of Juynan's head, and pointed yet again to a black spot at the base of her skull.

"There it is again," he mumbled to himself, confirming what he had tried three times to confirm: the spot on the scan was _not_ an imaging error.

He raised his Commlock and called Main Mission. Kano's face appeared.

"David, could you come down to Medical?"

The computer specialist—and now the ranking officer in Main Mission in the midst of a hostage situation—corkscrewed his face in disbelief.

"Come to Medical? Are you kidding? Dr. Mathias, Dr. Russell is being held at gunpoint and Commander Koenig is being forced to shuttle her and her captor to a space ship that is armed with an anti-matter bomb that might blow Alpha clean off the face of the moon. And you want me to come to Medical?"

Mathias considered, nodded his head, and answered, "I have been monitoring the situation. I know what has happened. But yes. It's important. I need your opinion on something."

"I am not a doctor. I am sure someone else would do much better assisting you with a medical opinion."

Dr. Mathias insisted, "No, Kano, it's you I need to speak to. Not the Commander, not Doctor Russell, _you_—and only you."

"What are you talking about?"  
"Kano, I believe you and our visitor have something in common. Something very, very unique."

---

Eagle Four lifted off from the launch pad. As the retro jets finished their job the main motors kicked in and propelled the craft forward.

John Koenig sat in the pilot's seat alone in the cockpit. He steered the Eagle over top moon base and gained altitude. As he flew he re-checked the navigation computer to confirm his destination: the _Denapolis_ no longer orbited the moon but, rather, travelled through space in a parallel course thanks to Alan Carter's work using Eagle One to boost the ship into a new, safer position.

With his course sure, he pushed the intercom button and spoke to the passenger module.

"Juynan, we've cleared the launch pad and are on course."

Juynan sat in the rear most row of two seats on the port side directly behind Dr. Russell. Ahead and mounted on the interior wall was a view screen presenting an image from the nose of the Eagle, something Juynan had insisted on as a check against chicanery.

"Yes, Commander. Maintain your course and get me to my ship. Once we're all clear I'll release the Doctor and you can return to your _moon base."_

Helena noted how Juynan sneered those last two words.

"Our story is true," she tried to turn around to face her captor but Juynan waved the laser gun at her. Helena faced forward again. "Why can't you believe us?"  
"I would like to," the woman answered. "But my mission is too important. The fate of a war—the fate of worlds—hangs in the balance. Besides, the Vorions are known for their subterfuge. It is their counter to our superior weapons and tactics. Maybe you're all Vorions surgically changed to look like my people. Or perhaps this is some kind of advanced computer simulation designed to deceive me."

"Juynan—"

"I'm done talking. If you are who you say you are, then do as I command and you will soon be rid of me, my ship, and the weapon. If not, then I will be certain to kill as many of you as possible and I won't let that bomb fall into your hands."

---

Eagle Four glided through space and approached the _Denapolis_. Its large body hovered in the void like a fat bird with its two long struts on either side playing the part of wings and the massive cargo bay a bloated belly.

Eagle One remained attached to that bird; locked in place via the docking tube. It had been the engines of that relatively small ship that had moved the larger 'bird' out of orbit and adrift on a parallel course to the moon. Still, however, far too close for Koenig's liking.

Eagle Three—which remained on station since the encounter had begun a few hour before—swooped into position above and behind Four. The Commander's voice carried through space on radio waves to the other pilot: "Irving, stay clear. Return to base."

"Roger that, Commander."

Eagle Three banked hard and plotted a course for moon base Alpha.

Eagle Four, meanwhile, veered off and circled the main hub at the center of the _Denapolis,_ descended, and carefully aligned with one of the many airlocks. Once in position, the docking tube extended and formed a seal.

Eagle Four reached its destination.

---

The internal air lock opened and Commander Koenig led the way onboard the _Denapolis,_ followed by Helena and then Juynan who still threatened with the laser.

Bergman and Sandra stood in plain sight together near the middle of the large chamber where the airlocks disembarked. Koenig immediately spied his comrades' improvised plan: Carter and Paul stood taught against the walls to either side of the entryway from which Koenig and the other two entered. Certainly they plotted to jump Juynan from both sides with the hope of disarming or stunning her.

"No!" Koenig held his hands out to either side in a 'stop' gesture. "Put your guns away and fall back."

Morrow and Carter shared a glance of disappointment but did as instructed. They each retreated with empty hands held upright and bare as Helena and then Juynan entered the large chamber.

"Smart move, Commander. I anticipated the ambush and would have killed the doctor here and at least one of your comrades before they could have subdued me."

"I don't want any more killing," Koenig said. "There's been enough of that on this ship."

"Yes," Juynan agreed. "And from what I can tell, it's your people who did that killing. Now, you four," and she motioned to Paul, Victor, Sandra, and Carter. "Return to the other transport ship and leave. Do not think about it, don't speak, just go. If you attempt to re-board I will kill these two."

Carter defiantly looked toward Koenig and asked, "Commander?"

"Do it."

Paul touched Carter's shoulder to move him along; Bergman wrapped an arm around Sandra and led her toward the other airlock; the one leading to Eagle One. Bergman stopped before he boarded and gave John a long look. The Commander nodded, giving his approval for them to leave him and Dr. Russell to their fate.

A moment later the air lock door shut, the sounds of spooling engines vibrated through the room, and then the roar of rockets as the Eagle pulled away.

"They're gone now, Juynan. You have your ship back," Koenig said.

The edge in the alien woman's voice faltered; her voice carried a tone of deep grief as she said, "Now I must tend to my crew."

Helena stepped forward earning a warning from the laser. She said, "Let me see their bodies, Juynan. Perhaps I can figure out how they died."

"I have a good idea how they died."

"Juynan," Koenig urged, "you've seen our weapons. We use lasers. Lasers did not kill your crew mates. Something else did. Maybe something still on this ship."

"Very well," she relented. "Come with me to visit my dead friends. But I warn you, Commander, if I believe you are responsible then you will not get off this ship alive."

She ended her words with a nod in the direction of the starboard corridor. The trio walked in that direction with the two Alphans in the lead.

"You say you went to the bridge and left your friends behind?" Koenig recalled as their shoes tapped and clicked in echoes up and down the long, dimly-lit hall.

"Yes. We had made it out of the core solar system and in to deep space without encountering any Vorion ships. The hardest part was behind us and we were half way complete with our journey. Next we would proceed on course and re-enter the outer systems where we'd meet an Alliance frigate. You'll understand if I choose not to go into further detail than that."

Koenig pushed, "Did you power down the computer?"

"What do you mean?"

"The computer. You told us it was enhanced to control the ship to make up for the lack of crew. Yet when we came on board your computer was and remains operating at barely minimum capacity. Look at the lights, Juynan. Rather dark, isn't it?"

"Yes," and she glanced around, nervously. "Yes it is."

"And what about the signal?"

"What signal? What are you talking about?"

Koenig pushed a little harder, "Don't you know? Professor Bergman discovered a transmission coming to this ship, but it's being blocked somehow. Maybe your communications relay has been damaged. Or maybe the computer is blocking it."

Juynan hesitated and her eyes opened wide for flash; and then she pushed away whatever thought had sprung to life.

"Enough, Commander. You're trying to distract me."

"It's a mystery, Juynan. I'm trying to help you understand it."

She growled, "It's a mystery of your making! I will complete my mission! And if I can't, I will destroy this ship and the anti-matter bomb so that it will never—NEVER—fall into Vorion hands. Do you understand? I will kill, I will die, I will do anything to keep the Alliance safe. Anything for the Alliance! Anything for my home!"

"Anything, Juynan?" Koenig said as they approached the opened bulkhead that led to the recreation room.

Juynan cautiously walked around the Alphans and used the laser to ward them off a few steps, then she gave her attention to the what lay inside.

It was the same scene captured by the photographs; two men and two women dressed in blue jump suits identical to Juynan's. The crew of the _Denapolis_ slaughtered while eating meals, reading, and relaxing. Two sported massive chest wounds where drying red blood matted and curdled. Another was identifiable only by his gray hair for nothing remained between his scalp and his jaw. A fourth—a woman—lay face down with a wound in her back as she had apparently scrambled for cover behind a large plush chair.

Juynan screamed. A growl. A roar. A primal shout combining sadness and wrath like the howl of an angered wolf. Forlorn and enraged, she turned toward Koenig and Helena. John thought she would shoot them at that moment.

"Those aren't laser burns!" he shouted. "There's your murder weapon," and he pointed to the strange silver gun with the finger grips carved into the handle. "That's not Alphan. That belongs to you!"

His words gave her pause. Juynan turned her head slowly—as if wary of a monster on her flank—and shot her eyes toward the silver gun laying on the corridor floor. It sat silent but held power; the power to discern the truth.

The woman who could not remember the most important minutes of her existence approached the weapon cautiously. She stood above it for a long moment before forcing herself to kneel and reach for the thing.

Her hand fit perfectly into the grip. As she grasped the weapon a red light on the handle flashed three times and then remained on.

"It's coded to you, is that it?" Koenig shot. "DNA…or fingerprints…whatever it is, there's a safety device so that it operates for you and only you! There are four more of those weapons on board, aren't there? One for each crewman. And this one belongs to _you!"_

Juynan raised the gun, stared at her hand in the grip, dropped the Alphan laser from her other hand, stood, and faced the bodies of her crewmates.

"No."

First denial. Simple and short. Only a word.

Louder: "No!"

Koenig yelled: "You killed your crew, Juynan! It was you all along!"

"No! No! No!"

"It had to have been you! No one else!"

She staggered backwards as if a bolt from the gun had struck her in the heart.

"I loved them! I would have done anything for them! Anything for the Alliance! Anything for my home!"

Helena tried to restrain John but to no avail. He pointed and yelled, "You murdered them, Juynan? Why? Was that for the Alliance? Did you do that for home?"

"I don't remember! I couldn't have done this!"

Any semblance of rational thought fell away from the woman as she transformed from a soldier at war to a tangled, insane mess. Everything she knew. Everything she remembered. It all blew up and spun and fell apart into fragments of dreams.

"No!"

Her scream carried through the dead ship, passing through the open bulkheads, carrying into the cargo hold, and filling the blackness that surrounded the glowing blue weapon of mass destruction.

---

"Eagle One to Alpha," Carter called. "We'll be touching down in five minutes."

Tanya Aleksandr's voice answered, "Is the Commander with you?"  
Alan turned to look at Paul Morrow who sat in the co-pilots seat. It was Paul who replied, "No. They're still onboard."

"Hey, now wait one second," Carter's eyes squinted at something off in the distance above the horizon of the moon. He stared for a moment longer and then checked his instruments.

"Alan? What is it?"

"I don't know."

Paul Morrow checked the redundant readouts on his side of the cockpit and then looked out the window himself. He said, "It's a ship. Another ship is coming in."

Carter pushed the communications switch in front of him.

"Alpha, check your scanners along orbital reference 359. There's something out there."

On the opposite side of the moon from Eagle One, a silver ship with sleek round edges and pod-like compartments affixed to a thick metal frame closed in on the traveling moon. Its gun ports and missile tubes spoke of a warship, one bigger than an Eagle, but slightly smaller than the Alliance's _Denapolis._

The Vorions had come to collect their prize.


	4. Chapter 4

The war ship approached the travelling moon. A thick frame formed the core of the vessel with a series of sleek silver pods affixed one after another in an apparently modular design. The forward most pod presented a sharp beak of a bow above rows of tubular gun barrels and oblong hatches most likely missile launchers.

A cluster of baffles at the tail end glowed blue-white with thrust, pushing the Vorions closer and closer to the planetoid that stood between them and the drifting Alliance freighter.

---

Eagle One's landing rockets fired, swiping moon dust off the pad in a thin cloud as they slowed the transport's descent. The landing gear touched down, compressed, and then eased. A moment later the docking tube protruded form the landing pad's receiving chamber and gripped the passenger module tightly.

Paul walked fast from the Eagle to the travel tube; Bergman had a difficult time keeping pace. Alan hung back a few steps walking with Sandra who kept her arms crossed tightly to her breast as she moved; she could sense the chill in the air. Not a chill of temperature, but of temperament. A cloud of tension hung above moon base.

Paul did not sit as the tube moved. He paced. Sandra wanted to say something but thought better of it.

The tube stopped, the doors opened, and Paul—once again—hurried out in a direct line for Main Mission pushing through groups of Alphans moving about their business but all doing so with a stumble in their step; a glare in their eye. That cloud of tension was thick and infected the staff with fear. They could all feel something coming.

A beep on his Commlock barely slowed Paul's pace.

"Yes?"  
Dr. Mathias' image beamed from the communicator.

"Paul, I need to see you in Medical right away. And Professor Bergman, too."

"This must be a joke."

"I am aware of the situation," Mathias said. "What I have to show you…well, you need to get down here and see for yourself."

Paul did stop this time. Stopped so fast Bergman nearly walked in to him.

He glanced forward along the corridor that led to Main Mission, and then looked down a side path that headed toward Medical.

"Damn it," he growled under his breath. Then to Carter: "Alan, get to flight control. We're going to need laser equipped Eagles."

Carter nodded but Sandra protested, "Paul, how can we fight a warship?"

His voice turned harsh and he shot, "Do you expect us to just sit here and do nothing?"

"Easy, Paul," Bergman's spoke soft. "I think we're all a little on edge."  
"Yes, yes I am," he thought, nodded toward Sandra and told her, "Go to Main Mission. Point every scanner we have at that incoming ship."

"Yes, Paul," and Sandra—her head down—shuffled off as ordered.

Carter nodded at Paul and then hurried away.

"Professor, it seems Doctor Mathias has something to show us in Medical. It had better be good."

The two men scurried toward their destination. Again Bergman struggled to keep up with Paul. They reached Medical and stormed inside.

Paul repeated what he had told the Professor a moment before but this time he spoke to Mathias: "This had better be good."

He stopped when he saw Kano and just when he was about to berate David for leaving Main Mission at a time of crisis, Paul spied what held the doctor's attention: a set of thermo graphic scans clipped to a light board on the wall. Those scans showed the upper half of a human, most notably the neck and skull. The various colors of the scans combined to form the image of bone, tissue, and brain within the silhouette of a head.

Bergman asked first, "What have you found?" but he already peered close at the image.

"We took initial scans when we brought Juynan to Medical from her ship," Mathias explained. "The first images were preliminary scans, focused on surface areas and the outer layers of the brain. We used those scans to determine that there had been no concussion and no obvious head injuries."

"Yes, and?" Paul fidgeted in desire to get to Main Mission and deal with the incoming alien ship, not to mention the hostage situation onboard the _Denapolis._

Mathias went on, "Everything appeared normal. Dr. Russell asked me to run the images through the computer for a more detailed analysis. And this is what we found."

"What? What did you find?"

Bergman wagged his finger at a dark spot at the base of the skull.

"Hmmm, yes, I can see why you called Kano down here," he said.

Kano—who always enjoyed an opportunity to be a step ahead of Paul Morrow—explained, "Back on Earth I was part of an experimental program to link the calculating ability of a computer to the thinking ability of the human brain. A series of fiber sensors were implanted into the cortex of my brain."

Mathias repeated what Dr. Helena had once told him, "Three other test subjects suffered permanent brain damage. David here was the success story."

Professor Bergman turned to Paul and reminded him, "The incident at Piri, remember? We didn't know it at the time but the Guardian was taking control of computer. We used Kano here to establish a link with computer to try and understand what was causing so many errors."

"And I ended up on Piri," Kano said dryly as he recalled both the pain and his sudden transportation to that strange planet that had nearly enslaved all of Alpha.

Mathias said, "Point is, David has a small input port at the base of his skull for establishing a link with computer. It is easily identifiable on scans of David, here, because of the amount of permanent scar tissue around the access port."

Kano reached to the base of his skull and touched the spot.

"It has always felt weird," he said in a tone that was far apart from his usual stoic voice.

Bergman pointed to the light box and said, "And you've found something similar with Juynan?"

"Yes, Professor. We found a similar entry point at the base of her skull. It is a port not unlike Kano's."

"So?" Paul's patience wore thin. "So what? So that means the Alliance has the ability to link with their computers. Sounds as if they succeeded where Earth came up short."

"That's not the only point, Paul," Mathias said but Bergman was way ahead of him.

"There's no scar tissue," he said and turned to Paul. "None at all."

"So?"  
Kano, again relishing the moment, explained as if speaking to a grade school student: "It means she did not receive the port as part of an operation. She has had it all her life."

Paul's eyes thinned and he asked, "You mean she was born with it?"

Bergman and Mathias shared a glance and then stared blankly at Paul.

---

Koenig and Dr. Russell stood in the corridor and watched Juynan. The Planetary Alliance soldier sat on her knees in the middle of the floor with her hands grasping her head in a desperate attempt to sort the madness. Her screams of horrific revelation had given way to whines and short barks of pain. The Alphan laser with which she had held Helena hostage had fallen to the ground and slid against the wall. Koenig retrieved it casually. The woman had also dropped the strange weapon that had been coded to her fingerprints or DNA; a security feature that had provided one more piece of the puzzle; the piece that confirmed Juynan had shot dead her crew mates.

But why? The larger puzzle remained unsolved.

Helena took a step toward Juynan. Koenig could see the concern on the doctor's face. He knew it was her way to comfort the hurt. John put a firm hand on Helena's shoulder before she could take a second step. As much as he admired her compassion, he viewed Juynan as a wild animal: who knew what would happen next? Judging by her reaction it was obvious she did not remember killing the other people onboard the _Denapolis._ That meant she either suffered from some form of mental illness or the wound to her head kept the memories of her motive shrouded. Whatever the truth, Koenig worried that Juynan could go from hysterical denial to homicidal at any moment. He still had his own people to worry about.

Nonetheless, something had to be done. There still remained a powerful anti-matter bomb onboard that ship and while Carter had pushed the craft further away from the moon there was no way to be sure Alpha would be out of the blast zone if it detonated.

"Juynan," he knelt next to her. "What do you remember?"

"I—I told you," she sobbed. "I was called to the bridge…then I woke up in a bed on your base. I could not have done this…this," and she reached toward the room that had become a chamber of torment for her. "I loved them. I would have done anything for them, for the Alliance, for my world. I would die before I would hurt my crew."

She turned to Koenig with wide eyes; eyes a far cry from the calculating soldier who had forced passage back to her ship by attacking a security guard and holding a captive at gun point. This time her eyes carried a desperate cry for understanding; to be relieved of this horrible revelation.

"Then the answers are on your bridge," Koenig said and stood. "The computer isn't running at full capacity. Now think, are there logs, would there be a record of what happened here?"

"M..maybe, yes," she tried to regain control as she rose to her feet. But her legs wobbled from the weight her shoulders now carried and Juynan fell against the side of the hall using the wall there for support.

"Juynan," Helena stepped forward. "We can try and help you to understand, but we had nothing to do with what happened here. Our role in this is…" and she looked to John Koenig and said, "…is simply by fate." And he understood because he lived with her on moon base Alpha where fate took them to so many places and into the middle of so many situations that it seemed as if the universe itself guided them to specific places and specific times for reasons unknown.

"Listen," Koenig added an edge to his voice, "we know there's a transmission being beamed to this ship, but Professor Bergman thinks your computer…" Koenig's words trailed off as he saw Juynan's eyes widen and she backed off a step; trembling.

"What? What is it?"

The alien woman folded her arms as if fighting a chill and fidgeted. Her expression was one akin to a deer confronted by a wolf; but Koenig was not the wolf.

Helena asked, "What's wrong, Juynan?"

The Commander thought he understood. He whispered, "That signal. You're afraid of that signal."

Helena looked to John then back to Juynan.

"Why?"

"I'm not afraid," she retorted but with the same conviction of a four-year old insisting she was not afraid of the dark.

"What is it? What is that signal?" Koenig asked sternly.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I don't remember anything!"

Koenig grabbed her by the shoulders. A few minutes before that would have been unthinkable; Juynan had demonstrated herself to be a capable, efficient soldier. She had overpowered a security guard and succeeded in forcing—through threat of violence—her return to the _Denapolis_. Yet now she was a quivering little girl in the grip of some emotional storm that had not only sanded away her rough edges, but reduced her to primal fear of something as simple as a transmission.

"What is it! What happened here? Why are you so afraid of that signal? It's the answer isn't it?" Koenig glanced back at Helena. Despite suspecting Juynan of mass murder and despite having held a laser to her head, Doctor Russell looked to the woman with compassion. She could see the confusion and fear all bundled together. Whatever Juynan had or had not done, at that moment Juynan was overcome with desperate sadness at the death of her friends and equally desperate fear of whatever the truth may be.

"John…" but Helena had nothing more to say.

Koenig threw theories out one after another: "Was it a virus? Did that transmission load a virus into your computer? Is it the Vorions calling, or is it your Alliance? Why won't your computer let it through? Did you block it?"

To each theory she responded: "I don't know! I don't know!"

Juynan collapsed from his grasp and mumbled, "I would never hurt them. I would do anything for them. Anything for the Alliance; anything for my people."

---

The Vorion Cruiser entered low orbit around the moon, its path heading directly toward Alpha. Its engines hummed and its silvery skin glittered in the star light.

Inside Main Mission Paul, Bergman, and Kano hurried to their posts while Sandra and Tanya stood at their stations watching the view screen as the war ship approached.

"Red Alert," Paul commanded and activated the alert with a firm press on a big red button. The klaxons blared to life and Commposts all around the base flashed RED ALERT.

Paul activated the address system and barked: "Energize meteor defense screens, close all primary bulkhead doors, damage control parties to stand by stations, non-essential personnel to emergency bunkers; Medical Center prepare to receive casualties."

He glanced to Bergman who stood nearby with his arms folded and two fingers rubbing his chin while he regarded the image of the impressive ship.

Paul pushed another switch on his console. Alan's voice answered: "Flight control."

"Alan, how long until you can have flight one of laser equipped Eagles ready to go?"

"Two minutes," Carter replied. "They're on the lift and I'm suiting up right now."

Sandra noted, "They will be overhead of Alpha in thirty seconds."

"Faster, Alan," Paul said. "But don't take off until you receive orders."

Morrow let out a long sigh then watched as Kano pulled a read out from his work station.

"Computer can not provide a detailed analysis of the vessel because she has no data from which to draw information."

"Thanks, Kano," Bergman responded dryly. "But I don't think it takes computer to know that that is a dreadnaught of some type," he then turned to Paul. "I have my doubts that a flight of laser-equipped Eagles could hold up long against something like that."

"So we do nothing?" Paul sneered.

"Well, whatever we do I think provoking them would be unwise."

Paul offered no reply. Instead he activated his communications console.

Far away on a parallel course to the moon, John Koenig stood over Juynan in the port side hall of the _Denapolis._ His Commlock called.

"Yes?"  
"Commander, are you and Dr. Russell okay?" Paul asked.

"We're fine, Paul. Dr. Russell is no longer a hostage. I may need you to send a technical team up here to analyze the computer."

"Commander," Paul interrupted. "Sir, there's another ship approaching. It will be passing over Alpha any moment and it appears to be headed toward you."

Koenig tilted his head, considered, and then asked, "Where's it from? Is it another Planetary Alliance ship?"

"I don't think so. It's silver and the design is much different then the one you're on. And Commander, it appears to be armed for war. If we were to guess…"

Koenig completed Paul's thought: "The Vorions."

Juynan listened to the entire conversation but when she heard "Vorions" she stood fast, whipped away the sobs, and struggled to carve a brave face.

"Paul," Koenig responded. "Stand by," and he clicked off his Commlock.

"No," Juynan said as her lip stiffened. "I will not let them have this ship. They cannot have this weapon. I will blow it up! I will self-destruct before they get here."

She stepped to circle around Koenig but he stood in her path.

"How did they know? This is a secret mission, Juynan. How did they know!"

She shook her head fast and pushed past him. He swung around, grabbed her arm, and said again, "How did they know to find you here? You're in deep space, far away from your front lines or your home worlds. They could not find you by chance, Juynan."

"That's not important now!" she insisted with something akin to denial. "I have to keep them from boarding. I will destroy this ship rather than have the anti-matter device fall into enemy hands."

Koenig ignored her and pushed, "Did your crew do this? Was one or more of them in on it with the Vorions? Did you discover something in that transmission?"

"Enough!" she shouted. "I have to stop them!"

"Juynan, what is in that transmission? What scared you? What would cause you to murder your crew? Did you kill them for the alliance?"

She ignored him and hurried away along the hall.

---

The main view screen depicted the image of moon base Alpha as viewed from a camera on the crater wall. That depiction showed the Vorion ship moving into position above the base while Eagles rose into position on launch pads below.

Sandra complained with a tremor in her voice, "What is it they want?"

Her console offered a series of chimes. She regarded a blinking light there with an expression of surprise. Paul's eyebrow raised and he shared a look toward Victor who said, "It seems we are about to find out."

Sandra slowly reached down and pushed the 'receive' button at her work station, accepting an incoming transmission from the newly arrived vessel.

The scene of Alpha on the main view screen disappeared, replaced with a new image; the image of an alien being standing in front of a shimmering veil of silver that glittered and shone like a cluster of stars.

Only the upper half of the alien could be seen from the transmission but from that the Alphans discerned plenty. The Vorions came from a reptilian background as evident by scaly bronze/green skin and no indication of hair anywhere. The facial features were rounded with eyes in front and two small nostrils above a lipless mouth. The being regarded the Alphans through amber and black pupils. It wore a white tunic adorned with small symbols that could only be military in nature.

Paul whispered to Sandra, "Patch this through to the Commander."

Sandra hesitated for half-a-second, blinked, and then did so via a series of switches at her station.

"My name is Porg, first Captain of the Vorion Cruiser _Advent Justice._ We have been monitoring your communications and have tracked the course of your planetoid. We have concluded that you are not working in concert with the Planetary Alliance and therefore you will be not be regarded as an enemy combatant or hostile force. Do not interfere with us and we shall take no action against you."

Away from Alpha onboard the _Denapolis,_ Commander Koenig watched and listened to the Captain's words as played on his Commlock. He responded, "My name is Commander John Koenig of moon base Alpha. We have no interest in interfering with you. However, myself and Dr. Helena Russell are currently onboard the Alliance ship."

"We understand," Captain Porg responded. "You investigated the ship as an act of good will and then were forcefully taken aboard a second time. When we board the _Denapolis_, stand aside and you shall not be harmed. You will be free to return to your base after we have secured the vessel, its cargo, and any remaining members of the crew."

Juynan hovered nearby, standing stock still with her eyes wide open.

"No…they will not take me alive."

Koenig regarded her and, in a moment of sympathy, transmitted to the Vorions: "There is one survivor of the _Denapolis_ whom we saved from the derelict ship. We ask you, on grounds of mercy, to spare her and, if necessary, she could be interned on our base. The cargo and the vessel are yours; certainly she is of no value."

The Captain said nothing for several long seconds. Koenig could not be sure if the pause came from consideration or surprise. Finally Porg asked, "Is this survivor Lt. Juynan Hannah?"

Koenig and Helena shared a glance, shocked that the Vorions would know the name of one of the crew.

"Yes, yes it is," he responded.

"I understand the compassion with which you are extending this offer," the Captain said. "But your request is denied. The ship, its cargo, the crew, and Lt. Hannah are claimed by the Vorion Imperium. There can be no bargain. We will arrive shortly. Stand clear of our boarding party and you will not be harmed."

The transmission ceased.

Juynan fidgeted and spoke more to herself than to anyone else, "I must destroy the ship…yes, that is the only way."

She walked off at a fast clip. Koenig moved to follow but Helena's Commlock buzzed catching both their attention. She answered it. Dr. Mathias' image appeared.

"Bob? Yes, what is it?"

"Dr. Russell, there's something you need to know. Something we discovered when we did the enhanced thermo graphic scans."

---

Juynan stepped onto the bridge and moved between the rows of stations. Her eyes regarded the COM panel where a light flashed and a graph showed the strength and frequency of a signal. A signal being blocked.

She backed away from it and then turned her attention to other functions on the bridge.

John Koenig and Dr. Russell stepped into the entrance door. Helena slipped her Commlock back onto her utility belt having heard all that Dr. Mathias had had to say.

The Alphans regarded Juynan with blank stares as she worked around the bridge, searching.

"What is it you plan to do?"

"I will blow up the ship," she said.

Koenig said, "Why is the computer shut down, Juynan?"

"I don't know."

She hurried from station to station. Koenig stepped in front and blocked her path.

"You can stop the charade, Juynan. The Vorions will be docking any moment. We won't stop them."

"Charade? What are you talking about?"  
Helena stepped forward and delicately said, "We know about the access port on the back of your head, Juynan. One of our people had something similar implanted as part of an experiment back on our home world. It allowed him to link directly with computer systems."

Her eyes squinted and her lips pulled taught as she said, "What are you talking about? What port?"

"On your head, Juynan," Koenig said. "We know _what_ you are."

Her hand absently felt to the base of her skull.

"W-what I am?" she pondered and then, more sure, said, "I am Lt. Juynan Hannah of the Planetary Alliance and I have a sworn duty to protect this ship and our cargo!"

"No!" Koenig shouted. "No you're not. You're a plant, Juynan. You're a tool of the Vorions!" He bit his tongue as he paused for a moment and then shouted again, "You're not even human! You're a machine! Do you hear me! You're a machine built to infiltrate this mission and turn the cargo over to the Vorions!"

"No! That's a lie!"

"The implant in your head," he went on, "there's no scar tissue. It wasn't added later, it was built into you when you were constructed! Your veins and your heart, you're bones and even your skin are lies! You said the Vorions had better technology and better computers, well you were right! You're one of them!"

"That's crazy! I grew up on Chrysallis! I had two brothers and parents. I had friends. I remember my time in flight school and training. I loved my family! I loved my crew!"

"Then answer the transmission. What is it you're afraid of? Why won't you turn the computer back on?"

"Get out of my way. They won't take the weapon."

"Stop, just stop," he insisted. "It's been your programming to hand that weapon to the Vorions from the beginning. Why are you still play acting? There's no one left to fool!"

---

The shadow of the Vorion cruiser faded from Alpha and approached the _Denapolis._ Thrusters fired, the engines dimmed, and the silver vessel eased into position above and toward the stern of the Alliance freighter. A tube extended from one of the many pods lining the _Advent Justice_ and reached for the rearmost air lock at the _Denapolis'_ core.

---

The sound of the docking tube reaching to the air lock reverberated throughout the ship. Juynan lost all interest in debating Koenig, in defending her sentience; she focused entirely on the one thing she knew for sure in her heart: that she was a Planetary Alliance officer and she must defend her ship.

She raced away from Koenig. He and Helena followed.

The Lt. ran down the neck-like corridor that extended from the bridge and, when she reached the central hub, turned quickly to the port side hall. She raced as fast as she could along that darkened hall, stopping short of the recreation room where her dead mates lay.

There she found the weapon of last resort; the gun coded to her fingerprints; the weapon that had killed her friends but was now the only thing standing between her and the anti-matter device falling into the hands of the enemy.

She ran as fast she could. She ran away from the dead eyes staring at her; away from the insane accusations made by Koenig; away from any question of her humanity.

Juynan arrived at the main hub just as the airlock door opened

Helena took a tentative step toward her but Koenig grabbed Dr. Russell and moved the two of them against the far wall, well away from what was to come.

Juynan raised the weapon and shouted in a battle cry: "You will not have my ship!"

Two humanoids in white space suits with gold face plates entered first, each carrying a nasty-looking rifle. Juynan met them with a shot from her own gun; a flash of light and a projectile that missed its mark and ricocheted off the airlock frame. The Vorions answered with fire of their own, one shot hitting Juynan in her chest.

The dark haired alien fell backwards. Her arms flailed to either side, her weapon sent flying. Juynan landed with a heavy thump on the cold floor. The Vorion soldiers stood back but Helena and John Koenig stepped closer.

In her gut hung the crimson gore one would expect from a creature of flesh and blood…but among the mess came a series of sparks and the crackling of electricity; exactly what one would expect from a mechanical creation no matter how human it seemed.

"Anything for the Alliance," she said from dying lips but as she spoke her voice changed from that of a woman to the synthesized, monotone recital of a machine: "Anything or my home…any…any…any…any…any…any…any…"


	5. Chapter 5

Commander Koenig and Dr. Russell remained away from the confrontation against one of the hard, cold walls of the _Denapolis'_ large airlock chamber. What they had thought of as Lt. Juynan Hannah lay on the floor with blood, gore, and sparks coming from the wound in her gut. Two Vorion soldiers wearing white space suits with closed gold visors on round helmets stood above the motionless body; their weapons swept the area for any threats and found the Alphans.

Koenig raised his hands. The rifles maintained a casual aim in his direction.

"What have you done!" a voice called from the docking tube behind the invading Vorion soldiers. "This is a travesty!"

More Vorions came from their ship, several wearing helmets but several more only wearing the white suits with various patches and icons on their breasts and sleeves. One led the rest, pushing past the two soldiers who had confronted Juynan and dropping to both knees by her side.

The Vorions were certainly of reptilian design although the bipedal bodies resembled that of a human in general form and size. Their skin was a bronze, green color but the one who appeared distraught at Juynan's destruction wore scales that were more faded than the others, giving him an 'older'-looking disposition.

"You should not have destroyed her!"

"The construct was not the objective of this mission." That voice came from Captain Porg—Koenig recognized him from the view screen.

"She was one of a kind," the kneeling Vorion complained loud and then, softer, "one of a kind."

"Professor Skor," Porg used a stern voice; a Commander's voice that Koenig recognized as similar to his own. "This mission will not be complete until we have secured the Alliance's weapon and brought the computer back on line. I suggest you concern yourself with these matters."

Skor stood slowly; solemnly.

"You don't understand," he scolded softly like a grandfather to a child. "There will always be new and better weapons; but Juynan was special."

"I have seen a dozen other constructs that could pass convincingly for Alliance officers. She was a tool, Professor. I suggest you drop any unhelpful attachment you developed to your work."

"No, no," Skor dismissed Porg's assertions with the wave of a gloved hand. "She was different. One-of-a-kind, Captain."

Porg—apparently frustrated with the argument—took notice of the Alphans. He stepped toward them and, as he did, used his hands to gently press down the gun barrels pointed in the humans' direction. Behind him more Vorion troops and technicians boarded the vessel and proceeded deeper into the ship.

"You must be Commander Koenig."

"I am."

"I am Captain Porg. Your decision to remain neutral in this conflict was wise and appreciated. You do not want to involve yourself in a war that has been as difficult and as brutal as the one between ourselves and the Alliance."

"Of course not," Koenig replied stoically.

The alien Captain asked, "Is there any one else on board?"

"No," Koenig answered. "All of my people have left and the rest of the crew were dead when we came here."

Dr. Russell took the opportunity to step closer to Juynan's destroyed body. She peered as close as she dared at the wound. She could not discern any difference between the organs visible there and the organs of a thousand patients she had operated on during her career.

"You say…you say she was a device? A robot of some kind?"

Professor Skor lamented, "That is an understatement, my lady. The parts of her body—both inside and out—were artificially created in a laboratory to pass the most intense physical examination; even medical examinations. She represented a tremendous advance from the rubber-skinned constructs of the past that used metallic skeletons and elastic overcoats."

Helena remarked, "She looks…human."

"Human?" Skor struggled with the term. "Ah, yes, that is what you call your species and the physical resemblance between yourselves and the Alliance is obvious; as is the physical resemblance between ourselves and you…as well as the Alliance, I suppose. Certainly this is a natural phenomena brought about by the limitations and parameters necessary for fostering intelligent, functioning life on—"

"Skor," Porg interrupted. "There is no time for this." And then he turned to Koenig. "We have monitored actions on your base including the arming of defense screens and preparations of combat ships for launch. I assume this represents a defensive posture and not an aggressive one?"

Koenig nodded and admitted, "Yes. We took precautions to defend ourselves."

"Understandable," Porg agreed but then directed from his position of strength, "However, you will order your base to stand down in these preparations. I do not want to be concerned with potential belligerence on the part of your people, Commander."

Koenig had no choice. He nodded in agreement.

Porg went on, "You are free to leave in peace, Commander. This vessel—and all on board—are now the property of the Vorion Imperium."

"I understand," Koenig said and then turned to Dr. Russell. "Come on Helena, there's nothing more for us here," and the two Alphans started walking toward the docking port where Eagle 4 waited.

The Professor glanced at the Alphans, at Juynan, and then touched Captain Porg's arm.

"Wait, wait, Captain, wait," the scientist's voice hinted at begging. "At least allow me to question these Alphans. They spent several hours with the construct. I would like to know their impressions."

"The computer is our priority."

"The technicians can see to that, Captain," and Skor pointed at the motionless body of Juynan saying, "Don't you understand? She was never supposed to work this well. I can not explain how or why she succeeded where so many others had failed. The Alphans might be able to shed some light on why."

Porg sighed, shook his head showing that body language might just be universal: Koenig clearly saw frustration there. The Captain turned to Koenig and said, "Commander, I will indulge Professor Skor's request only if you consent. But know I can not guarantee your safety except in regards to the actions of my own soldiers."

Skor pleaded to Koenig, "Please, Commander. Just a few moments of your time. You might find it all rather fascinating."

John looked to Helena. She nodded her head only in the slightest.

"Okay then," Koenig agreed. "Myself and Dr. Russell will stay on board, but only for a few minutes. It is not our intention to involve ourselves in your conflict."

"Of course not," Skor's lipless mouth stretched in what might be a smile. "I will not detain you for long."

Porg said, "Very well. I will accompany the first technical team to the bridge. The second team will descend into the cargo bay to examine the weapon. Professor, if you are required with either the computer or the device you will immediately comply, am I clear?"

"Yes, Captain, quite clear. As usual."

The other Vorions scattered toward their tasks.

---

Paul paced back and forth behind his console. Sandra watched him move worried that her friend might explode from frustration and tension.

The _Denapolis_ dominated the center of the main view screen with the somewhat smaller Vorion ship toward the rear and Eagle Four docked on the port side toward the bow side of the center hub.

"Why have they not contacted us?" Sandra verbalized the thought in everyone's mind.

Bergman stood nearby holding his chin in his hand.

"I suppose it depends on what the Vorions found when they docked."

"Computer has not registered any changes in the status of the ships," Kano volunteered.

The communications console beeped.

Paul moved lightning fast.

"Alpha."

Koenig appeared on a small screen beneath the main viewer.

"Paul, this is Koenig. Myself and Dr. Russell are safe."

"That's good to hear, Commander," and Morrow let his frown turn into an expression of relief; relief shared by all in Main Mission.

Koenig went on, "The Vorions have no intention of threatening Alpha. Paul, you'll need to stand down from Red Alert and return all Eagles into the hangers. We don't want to make any moves that could be interpreted as hostile."

"I understand, Commander." Paul turned to Tanya and ordered, "Tell Carter to get his Eagle flight below decks. Turn off the meteor defense screens." He considered and finished, "But keep non-essentials in the emergency shelters for now."

"Paul?" She asked.

"Until we're clear of the Vorions we might as well stay buttoned up tight. They can't argue with us for hunkering down, now can they?"

Tanya relayed Paul's orders throughout Alpha.

"What about you, Commander?"

Koenig answered, "We're staying up here for a few more minutes. One of the Vorion scientists has some questions for us about Juynan."

Bergman stepped forward. "Is she..?"  
"She was never alive," Koenig anticipated his question and confirmed what the scans of Juynan's head had first hinted at to Dr. Mathias. "She was an android, Victor."

"I see."

"No Victor, I'm not sure you do. I don't think any of us really saw."

---

Koenig returned his Commlock to its utility belt.

"I appreciate your indulging of my curiosity," Professor Skor said. "Please, come walk with me."

The Professor casually strolled to the starboard side of the chamber and along the corridor that led off there toward the crew quarters. The lights remained dim but that suited the conversation: a conversation about deceit and skullduggery.

Skor said, "I was shocked to see that her personality mode had been re-activated by the time we boarded. Was that the case when you arrived as well?"

Helena mumbled, "Personality…mode?"

"Yes, ah, what you would call her _human_ persona. The person of Lt. Juynan Hannah. This was the person her programming made her for the purposes of this mission."

Koenig surmised, "You learned about the Alliance's weapon. And you managed to get Juynan assigned to the crew."

"Yes. While the Alliance's weapons and tactics are far superior to our own, we hold a technological advantage in terms of computers and electronics. Our intelligence service intercepted coded messages and we drew conclusions about the purpose of the mission and this new weapon. We breached the security of several Alliance computers and made sure Juynan was among the short list of candidates for the mission."

"And then she volunteered," Koenig understood.

Helena asked, "How long was she undercover in the Alliance?"  
"Not long," Skor admitted as they walked along the corridor at a slow pace. "The construct was only completed a short time ago. In reality, this was her first mission. We were fortunate that the Alliance kept such secrecy around the mission; no one questioned the background files and service records inserted into their computers. A stroke of luck for us."

Koenig recalled Earth's own history and observed, "Luck is usually the most important weapon of war."

"Professor," Helena asked, "we found Juynan unconscious on the bridge. And you say you were surprised that she was in personality mode. What other 'modes' did she have?"

"The construct had two modes of operation: personality and automaton. She lived in her personality mode unaware of her true nature. We felt this to be critical to selling the illusion of what you would call her 'humanity'. This is how she lived with her crew mates. Obviously she would not carry out any subterfuge in such a state. Therefore, we sent an activation signal that automatically switched modes. In essence, she became a pure robot with very specific instructions."

Koenig knew those instructions. He stated them to Skor with no small measure of disapproval in his voice: "Kill the crew and prepare the ship for boarding."

The Professor heard the tone clearly. He stopped, ran a gloved hand over the aging scales on his forehead and admitted in an apologetic tone: "Very distasteful. It pains me to know of my part in those deaths. But Commander, we are in the midst of a war. A war that has killed millions of lives on both sides. The Alliance's new anti-matter device appears to have been built with the aim of wiping out entire planets."

"So you sent the signal," Helena—driven by curiosity—moved the conversation forward. "What happened?"

Skor began walking again. They joined him. He spoke, "The signal made it through and we received confirmation that the automaton mode had activated. At this point she must have carried out her orders successfully and then—as programmed—returned to the bridge to upload her memory banks to the _Denapolis_ computer which were then to be transmitted to our ship."

Koenig asked, "You mean the data she had stored about the weapon, the _Denapolis,_ and other Alliance secrets?"

Skor waved his hand in agreement, "Yes, yes, all of it. Everything from her memory banks. We could then sift through and discern the relevant pieces. Once that transmission was complete she would pilot the vessel to our location. That's when something went wrong. We lost contact with the automaton. We did not receive a transmission from the computer and then the activation signal was blocked."

"What happened?" Koenig asked as they neared the open bulkhead to the crew quarters.

"We don't know. I'm hypothesizing a kind of feedback during the upload process; an anomaly either inside the Alliance's computer—perhaps an advanced security protocol—or inside Juynan's programming; something we did not anticipate."

"When we found her," Helena told him, "she was unconscious on the bridge. We thought she had fallen and suffered a head injury but it turns out the blood we found was from the upload link you hid just below the skin at the base of her skull."

"Unconscious, you say?"

Helena explained, "We transported her to our Medical Center on our moon base. When she woke up she could not remember who she was."

"But she was in personality mode? That seems almost impossible."

Koenig said, "Her memories came back rather quickly."

"She told us," Helena said, "about her home. Her brothers who were killed in the bombings. All of it."

Skor scratched his chin and stopped as they came to the entrance to the crew quarters.

"That would have been her memory banks re-booting. But it still does not explain why our signal was blocked or why she did not transmit the data. Turning off that transmission and shutting down the computer would be an act to protect the Alliance; as if her personality mode had come to understand her mission and tried to stop it. Yet she was already unconscious by the time you found her? I can not logically explain what happened."

"Another anomaly?" Koenig quipped but without any humor.

Skor opened his mouth to answer but a buzz came from a communications device mounted on his wrist.

"Yes?"

Far below in the cavernous cargo bay, a trio of Vorion soldiers and technicians worked their way around the shimmering blue device.

"Professor," one of them transmitted. "Our readings indicate the device is stable. The Alliance linked the containment vessel to the main computer. The shielding remains in balance but we won't be able to extract the device until we can bypass that shielding."

"I see," the Professor's voice responded. "Continue to monitor the device. If need be we can keep it in the hold and take the entire vessel with us to the Imperium."

The soldier continued: "Professor, our readings also confirm that this device is as powerful as initially believed. I would estimate its power to be one hundred times greater than our largest thermonuclear war heads. The anti-matter explosive chain reaction triggered by this weapon could destroy an entire continent on home world within seconds."

"I understand," Skor responded into his wrist communicator and then finished, "Continue to monitor the device and report any changes in status immediately."

The reptilian scientist shook his head and mumbled, "Such a powerful device. What destruction it could wreak."

"Why are you at war with the Alliance?" Helena asked.

"What's that? Hmm?" The question confused Skor. He thought for a moment and then understood what she asked. "Ah, yes, a purpose. A reason. Who fired the first shot and whatnot? I wish I could tell you, my lady. I was much younger when it all began. Certainly there were many justifications in those days. We were filled with outrage. With a blood lust for some injustice or another; this provocation or that. No doubt the Alliance shared similar feelings with their own slant on whatever the truth might have been. I suppose that in all this time the purpose has been lost."

Koenig said, "That is true of most wars. My own people have suffered our fair share, on our home world."

"Perhaps you can use this chance to find an agreement," Helena hoped. "This weapon is so powerful…now you have it, and so does the Alliance. Maybe the threat of mutual destruction could end your conflict."

"I am a scientist, not a soldier," Skor said. "Nor am I that most monstrous of beasts: a politician. I find the arenas of battle and diplomacy equally distasteful. But science…here there are truths that cannot be argued; that cannot be dismissed."

"And Juynan?" Koenig asked.

Professor Skor peered into the quarters where Juynan had stayed; he saw the pictures of her planet and of her pet—the one that resembled a horse to the Alphans.

"She was a masterpiece," the Professor told them. "But one born of serendipity." He faced the humans and spoke. "We poured time and resources into the construct program nearly from the beginning of the war. We knew that our technological advantage would be our hope in defeating the Alliance. They were—they are—better masters of war than us. We sent constructs into battle to confuse them; to approach their lines, to serve as decoys, to operate in their rear areas. But each time these simple devices were recognized for what they were and destroyed. So we focused on improving the physical appearance of the machines."

Helena noted, "I'd say you succeeded."

"Yes, yes we did. Juynan's body is proof of this. I gather she even fooled your medical scanners. At least for a while. But the physical form was never the problem. Dozens of constructs with the physical bodies of Juynan were sent behind lines and were found and destroyed rather quickly."

Koenig stepped forward and said, "I find that hard to believe. She resembled a human being in every way."

"The problem lay not in the bodies, Commander, but in their programming. You see, we could duplicate the skin, eyes, hair, and attributes of a person but not the personality. The fault in those original constructs was in the programming. They resembled a person in every way until they interacted with people; until they spoke and lived whatever phony lives we created for them. That is when they stood out from other people as clearly as if they wore metal skin."

Helena started, "But Juynan—"

"Yes!" Skor smiled as best he could with no lips. "That's what made her special, dear Doctor. Something in her programming. You see, we had little time to prepare the construct for this mission when we learned of the Alliance's anti-matter device. We hurried Juynan through the process, throwing together a collection of memories and images from a phony past. Myself and the entire scientific team felt certain she would fail miserably; that her robotic programming would betray her at her first interaction with others. But that did not happen."

"Why?" Helena asked. "What made her different?"

"We don't know," Skor admitted. "That's why I wanted her preserved. As best we can tell there was some anomaly in her programming; something in the combination of memories and personality pre-sets that was greater than the sum of her parts."

"Amazing," Helena remarked. "I can not believe that software and programming could produce something so life like."

"And that's just the point, Doctor. It's as if Juynan were truly alive."

"We can vouch for that," Koenig said. "She came across as completely human. She was emotional…she cared about her crew…she was devoted to her mission…and at the end she was ready to sacrifice herself to stop you from boarding. If she had had a few more minutes, she would have self-destructed the ship to keep the weapon from your hands."

"We will never know," Skor lamented, "what made her special."

The communications device on the Professor's wrist beeped. Captain Porg's voice spoke: "Professor, we need your assistance in bringing the computer back on line."

He responded, "Very well, Captain, I am on my way to the bridge." Then he turned to Commander Koenig and Helena and told them, "I am sorry our time is being cut short. I have enjoyed your company and wish that we could spend more time together. You strike me as rather intelligent people with a pleasant disposition…um, given the circumstances, of course."

"You should try, Professor," Helena pleaded, "try to find a way to end this war. If you no longer recall the purpose for it, then what purpose does it serve to continue?"

"As a scientist, I agree with you, doctor. But I am merely a scientist."

Koenig corrected, "You are a scientist who might have discovered the secret to sentient life. That might just be a discovery that could transcend the differences between you and the Alliance."

Skor sighed, "I, of course, will try, Commander. But I am an old voice. For now, duty calls. I must help the Captain activate the computer so we can take our prize back to the Imperium."

"And your war will become more dangerous," Koenig noted.

---

Commander Koenig's voice echoed through Main Mission.

"Paul, we're leaving now."

Matching his words, the viewer showed the Eagle—small compared to the other two ships—detach from the _Denapolis,_ hover for a moment, and then move away from the docked crafts.

"What's your status down there?"  
Paul responded, "No change, Commander. We've cancelled Red Alert as instructed but I've kept non-essential personal in the shelters."

"Good," Koenig answered. "As long as that bomb is anywhere near the moon…well, let's not take any chances."

Eagle Four began its return trip to moon base.

---

Professor Skor arrived on the bridge of the _Denapolis_. Captain Porg and several Vorion technicians moved about the chamber interacting with the various controls and systems.

Porg growled, "Confounded Alliance technology. It is primitive in comparison to our computers yet we can't get it activated."

"Easy, Captain, easy. Let me see what I can do. Ah yes, it appears the primary core has been placed into hibernation mode. That left only essential services operating. Perhaps now we can figure out why our activation signal was blocked."

"How long?"  
"A few moments…patience, Captain. All of your enemies onboard this ship have been dealt with. Nothing to fear."

---

The drone of Eagle systems, engines, and the constant electric buzz from the components of the cockpit surrounded Koenig and Dr. Russell. Koenig piloted the craft toward the moon which filled the small windows of the command module.

"Amazing, John. She was so life like. Do you think..?"

"Do I think she was alive? I don't know," he mumbled; more so grumbled. She caught the tone in his voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"What's bothering you? Something is on your mind."

He admitted, "Yes. Something is wrong. I can't quite put my finger on it, Helena."

"It makes you wonder," she remained focused on the robot they had known as Lt. Juynan Hannah. "It makes you wonder if we're not just a bunch of memories and impulses. How different are we from her?"

Koenig's eyes widened. He looked to Helena and she saw sheer panic in them. John pushed down hard on the controls and the Eagle accelerated, pinning Helena in her seat.

"John? John what is it?"

He ignored her and raised Alpha on the communications console.

"Paul, keep everyone in the bunkers. Close all blast doors."

"Commander--?"

_"Do it."_

Eagle Four accelerated through space hard and fast toward the moon at full throttle.

Koenig fumbled with the communications console. Helena—puzzled, dazed, confused—alternated her eyes from him to the fast-approaching moon and back again at rapid pace.

"Professor Skor, this is Commander Koenig calling, can you read me? Do you hear?"

On the bridge of the _Denapolis_ Professor Skor worked alongside Captain Porg running through the last series of switches to re-activate the computer. A light on his wrist-mounted communicator caught his attention.

"What's this?"

"Is that our activation signal?" Porg asked.

Skor told him, "No, it's coming from outside our usual frequency band. Let's see," and he switched the device on. Commander Koenig's voice came through with a burst of urgency: "Professor Skor, can you hear me?"

"Ah, it's our Alphan friends."

Porg noted, "He sounds upset."

"Yes, um, Commander, this is Professor Skor, I hear you."

Onboard Eagle Four Koenig continued to fly the ship fast and furious away from the _Denapolis_ and toward the moon. Helena wondered if he aimed to fly straight through the surface.

"Professor, you said Juynan's automaton mode was ordered to upload its memory banks into the computer for transmission to your ship? Is that right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"All of her memories, Professor? Or just information about the weapon and the Alliance?"

"All of them. More efficient that way. We could easily siphon the planted memories and experiences to find the pertinent data."

Onboard the _Denapolis,_ Captain Porg waved his hand at Skor and mumbled, "We don't have time for these theoretical conversations, Professor. We have to complete our task," and he walked to the main computer console to finish the activation process.

Skor communicated, "Commander, I appreciate your curiosity but now is not the time to—"

Koenig—still driving the Eagle away from the alien ships faster and faster—cut off the Professor and shouted, "You created life, Professor! You said it yourself, it wasn't her body it was her programming; those memories and experiences that you created for her and those she experienced with her crew. There was an anomaly…and it was the spark of life!"

"All very good," Skor's puzzled voice broadcast, "But all was lost, I'm afraid. I don't think we could duplicate the results again; it was all rather serendipitous, as I said."

The Eagle's engines roared; the force of acceleration into the moon's gravity well pushed Helena and Koenig deeper into their seats as he swooped toward the surface intent on putting as much distance between his ship and the _Denapolis_ as possible.

"Not just any life, Professor! The life of an Alliance officer! An Alliance officer who would do anything to protect her people; even sacrifice herself!"

"I don't understand your point, Commander, if you—"

"And you uploaded all that programming INTO THE COMPUTER! The computer is blocking the activation signal because it's protecting the Alliance! Lt. Juynan Hannah isn't dead, Professor! DO NOT TURN ON THE COMPUTER!"

Onboard the _Denapolis,_ Professor Skor stared at his communicator and digested the Commander's words. The dots connected one by one in his mind. His heart raced; his mind spun but his actions moved too slow.

"Captain," Skor turned to face Porg who stood over the computer console, "do not activate the—"

"There," Porg said with satisfaction as the lights rose to full power in the cockpit and systems buzzed and hummed as they came on line. "That should do it."

Skor's eyes darted from display to display; panel to panel. He felt surrounded by a pack of angry predators. All the while Koenig's voice shouted from his wrist: "Don't turn on the computer, Skor!"

Too late.

The computer's voice—a voice nearly identical to Lt. Juynan Hannah's--broadcast from all around the invading Vorions.

_"Anything for the Alliance…anything for my home…"_

In the belly of the cargo ship the blue glow from the Alliance weapon grew as brilliant as a sun, blinding the Vorion soldiers keeping watch until they, the _Denapolis,_ the Vorion vessel, and the entire horizon above moon base Alpha were engulfed in a gigantic explosion; a fireball of blue and white.

The energy signal of the anti-matter detonation pegged the gauges on the Eagle's console. The glow from the blast wrapped around the shuttle craft and blared in through the windows as its brilliance reflected off the moon. The Eagle shook as if trapped in an earthquake in space.

"John! What is it John? What happened?"

"Screens to full power. Helena…hold on! Hold on!"

The first shockwave rammed the vessel from behind, pushing it forward even faster than Koenig had pushed the machine. Sparks flew as systems overloaded from the cloud of energy enveloping Eagle Four.

"I'm losing control!"

The dusty surface and the craters of the moon's surface reappeared as the glow from the blast faded. Close. Too close.

Eagle Four wobbled starboard to port and back again; retro rockets fired in vain; fuel and fluids vented into space from ruptured lines.

The shockwaves reverberated through Main Mission as well, tumbling clipboards and coffee cups; knocking some Alphans from their feet. Paul held his ground through the tremors and kept an eye on the Main Viewer which filled with light from the detonation.

A beep on Sandra's console sounded the alarm.

"Paul, Eagle Four is out of control!"

The viewer cleared and the screen found the tumbling, falling image of the Commander's ship. It had survived the initial blast, but had the shockwaves dealt a fatal blow?

"Eagle Four, come in. Commander, do you hear me?" Paul broadcast frantically.

Kano examined a slip from his console and informed: "Computer indicates thirty seconds until impact." He read closer and then stared at Paul as he informed, "Point of impact…Alpha Moon Base."  
Paul ignored the grim news, punched a button and commanded, "Rescue Eagle and emergency Medical team to Launch Pad Two."

"Alan," Kano said as he read from a slip of paper spit forth by computer. "If they crash—"

"Not now, Kano. Not now!"

They watched the viewer as the Eagle continued to rock. Onboard Four Koenig fought the controls, one moment getting no response, the next getting too much response. It felt like trying to control a car sliding on ice with a steering wheel that only worked when turned in one direction.

"John!" And she pointed forward at the sight he could certainly see for himself. "Alpha. John we're going to hit Alpha!"

The sprawling complex lay before the falling ship like a bull's eye.

"Helena…I can't…I can't control…"

John dared take one hand from the sticks and reached toward the auxiliary power controls on the main console. He fought the g-force and found his mark, releasing a small cover where another series of red and blue buttons waited. He punched two, first cutting off power to the main motors and then re-routing that power to maneuvering thrusters.

"One chance…" he said to himself, to Helena, and to whatever divine power had guided their fortunes since leaving Earth.

He took both hands off the pilot sticks and found more controls, cutting off those sticks and giving the Eagle the flying quality of a falling brick. And while that would normally be disastrous, at least a falling brick fell in a stable fashion.

"John…John we're still—"

"I know! Hold on!"

He worked his fingers across the rocket control buttons like an expert typist crafting a novel. But instead of letters each punch of his fingertips fired the rockets situated on the landing pods and beneath the passenger module. Each burst rocked the ship side to side and…and slowed it.

Alpha moon base disappeared from the front windows as a thruster burst shoved the nose cone up and level.

A proximity warning alert blared through the cockpit.

"It's too late, John!"

With a grunt, Koenig punched three firing control sequencers at once, causing a small explosion of fuel beneath the belly of the ship. The slam against their under carriage felt as if they hit ground but, in fact, they had hit a force opposite to their momentum. Both of them jumped in their seats; if not for tight restraining harnesses they would have been flung into the ceiling, badly injured or worse. Instead they suffered only bruises and scrapes on their shoulders from the taught belts.

Another jolt came a second later as Eagle Four hit the moon's surface. Once again the safety harnesses held Koenig and Dr. Russell in place; once again suffering only bruises and scrapes.

Outside, two of the four landing struts collapsed from the shock, listing the ship; a coolant leak sprung from port side aft like a geyser; and a pair of nearly-melted engine baffles dropped from the bottom.

But structural integrity held, none of the sparks spurred a fire or explosion, and Eagle Four came to rest on dusty ground less than ten meters from the windows of an engineering lab in Technical Section.

High above the surface of the moon where Eagle Four had finally touched down, the last remnants of brilliant light faded from the anti-matter explosion leaving nothing but the dead quiet of space.

---

The red-striped rescue Eagle eased to the landing pad where a docking tube extended to meet it. The doors opened and both Helena and John Koenig walked gingerly into the travel tube, leaving behind the Medical team that had extracted them from Eagle Four.

Professor Bergman waited inside the tube.

The bulkhead shut, the three passengers sat, and the vessel moved away from the launch pad area on its journey toward the heart of Alpha.

Victor could not contain his curiosity. He clasped his hands together as if preparing to savor a delight and asked, "Well? What happened up there?"

John and Helena shared a glance. Koenig answered, "She wasn't real, Victor. A robot. Nothing more."

"Really? That's it then, is it?"

Again another glance to Helena. Behind them, as background, the travel tube hummed and shook and lights flashed as they proceeded onward.

Helena said, quietly, "She was alive, John. As alive as you and I."

"It was just programming, Helena. No different then the software in Kano's computer."

She insisted, "The Vorions said, there was an anomaly. Something different." Helena added, "Her body looked like one of us. Her medical scans confirmed it."

"But she wasn't real, Helena. She was a lie."

"Oh, I don't know," Bergman contemplated. "One man's veins and nerves are another man's wires and electrodes, I suppose. What is our heart other than a pump? Our brains other than processors? Our muscles might be motors, it could be imagined."

"She was alive," Helena repeated. "As real as you and I. And that life was uploaded into the computer where another version of Juynan Hannah did what a Planetary Alliance officer would do: she sacrificed for her people."

John considered, looked to Helena, looked to Victor, and said with a heavy heart, "Is that it then? Is that what life is?"

Bergman said, "Space is vast, John. Larger than our minds—" he tapped his head, "can possibly contemplate. Even out here, among the stars, with all the planets we've seen and all the beings we've encountered, the truth is that sentient life is incredibly rare in the universe. Perhaps, where it does occur, it's nothing more than an accident."

Helena whispered, "An accident that causes one to be more than memories, emotions, and instinct. More than what the Vorions might call _programming."_

John brought the thought to a finer point: "An anomaly."

The travel tube carried them back to Alpha; back to home, and the wandering moon continued on its journey through the dark void of space.

series created by

Gerry and Sylvia

Anderson


End file.
